THE Lady Eagles were again on the losing end of a tough game against The Port Women at the Cygnet Oval last Saturday. The Eagles were coming off a bruising 52-point loss to Hutchins the week prior to the bye and knew they would be in for another tough physical game against The Port who had played a great game against the undefeated Claremont prior to the bye, going down late in the game by two points.
Play began at 11am in a warm 17 degrees in front of a small crowd. The ground was very slippery, making it difficult for players to hold their feet. This seemed to be the pattern for the day as all the New Norfolk teams were making hard work of the slippery conditions. The home teams were certainly handling the conditions much better than the visitors. The Eagles got away to a reasonably good start with Ellie Henricks scoring the first and only goal for the quarter and New Norfolk held a narrow 5-point lead at the first change: New Norfolk 1.2 (8) to The Port 0.3 (3).
The second quarter saw The Port really take it right up to the Eagles as they handled the conditions much better, consistently attacking the goals scoring seven goals and two behinds. The Eagles could only manage one goal, again to Ellie Henricks, against the home team’s onslaught, to trail by 31 points at the main break: The Port 7.5 (47) to New Norfolk 2.4 (16).
The third quarter was again a struggle for the Eagles as The Port continued to apply the pressure and handle the slippery conditions better than the Eagles. To their credit, the Eagles tightened up in defence and restricted The Port to two goals and one behind. Unfortunately, New Norfolk could only manage two behinds to trail by 42 points at three-quarter time: The Port 9.6 (60) to New Norfolk 2.6 (18). Ashley Harwood, Erin Lawler, Ashlee Green and Jordynn Hepburn were battling hard for the Eagles.
The final quarter saw The Port run away with game as they added four goals and three behinds, leaving the visitors powerless to stop the avalanche. On face value, it looks like a disappointing result for the Eagles, but when comparing the team from Saturday with the team that beat The Port by 14 points in their previous encounter in round three at Boyer Oval, we note that several players were missing from that side.
Tiarna Ford, Maddison Roberston, Siobahn Smith, Sidonie Skelly, Ashley Harwood, Mia Temple and Lucy Gleeson were all missing from Saturday’s team. The Eagles only had 17 players available, and so had only one rotation on the bench all game. The two teams are now equal on points on the ladder, with The Port in third position on percentage from the Eagles in fourth position.
The two teams do not meet again this roster season. The Eagles face several easier games over the next few weeks, so we expect to see them bounce back into the winner’s circle. They return home to Boyer Oval this Saturday to play University in a game they would be expected to win. 10am start.
CHRIS LOVELL
Final Scores:
The Port 13.9 (87) d New Norfolk 2.8 (20)
Best – New Norfolk: Sophie Farrow, Ellie Henricks, Erin Lawler, Ashley Harwood, Chloe Ford, Ashlee Green; The Port: H. Kluga, A. Jones, A. Sharp, M. Eaves, E. Johnstone, R. Munnings.
Goals – New Norfolk: Ellie Henricks 2; The Port: S. Fox 3, M. Eaves 3, A. Sharp 3, I. Coulson, I. Sharp, R. Munnings, A. Stanway.
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