The Riddell District Netball League was beaten by a slicker unit in the AFL Victoria Country Championships on Saturday,
The Nepean Netball League side contained several Victorian Netball League Championship division players and that showed on the court in a 60-49 win in Macedon.
RDNL coach Di McCormack said Nepean’s experience playing together was the difference.
“It was a great game and the standard was the best I’ve seen in the interleague championships in the last three years,” she said.
“We took it at them. To have lost by 11 goals was good considering the standard of their team.”
RDNL started and finished the better of the two sides.
“We did well in the first quarter and were up by six goals,” McCormack said.
“They quickly came back at us … they were winning all the one per centers. We then won the last quarter.”
All 10 players got on the court for RDNL as McCormack tried to find the right combinations.
Hope Hamilton scored 31 of the RDNL’s goals.
“I thought Hope was really good,” McCormack said.
“She scored the majority of the goals for us and only missed three shots for the whole game.
“Chrissy [Christine Harris] did a good job switching between goal attack and wing attack, while I brought Renee [Hulls] on in the second quarter to try and mix it up.”
McCormack said that when the RDNL midcourters struggled a bit, she was forced to move Bridget Aughton into centre.
She said Tess Abbott and Danni Davidson were fantastic in defence but had a hard task against the taller Nepean goalers.
McCormack said it was good to see two of the newer squad members, Samantha George and Emily Ktona, bounce back after struggling early.
“Samantha started in wing defence and I switched her to goal keeper in the last quarter,” the coach said. “Everything we asked from her she did … she played really well in the last quarter and won her position.
“I started Em at wing attack and she came off and said that nerves got to her.
“When I put her at wing defence, she did a great job.”
Despite the loss, McCormack said she wasn’t disappointed with the RDNL players.
“They [Nepean] have been playing together for a lot longer,” she said.
“That was the edge for them and a credit to them.”
