A mammoth opening quarter set up a huge win for Diggers Rest’s netballers as they consolidated their place in the Riddell Football Netball League top six on Saturday.
Taking on Woodend-Hesket, the Burras shot out of the blocks with 27 goals from 30 shots in the first period to open up a game-winning 20-goal lead.
They continued on their merry way after the first break to secure an 82-40 victory.
Diggers Rest coach Amy Carroll said her side’s performance was close to perfection.
“I think that’s the best I’ve seen us play,’ she said.
“You would say a 15-goal quarter is a good one, so to nearly double that was outstanding from us.
“It was really great for us to have that big first quarter, because our starts are something we’ve really been working on.
“It dinted their confidence … they were still a strong team, but it’s hard to come back from that.”
Carroll bagged 16 goals from as many shots in the early rout, while the return of Natasha Chokljat to the centre gave the transition play of the Burras real potency.
The Burras extended their lead at every change, grabbing a further 19 goals in the second term and 22 in the third to continue the blitz.
The bulging scoreline gave Carroll the chance to experiment with her line-up, something she hopes will stand the side in good stead come finals time.
“We tried some different things, and I think that’s a real positive – that we could still play well with those changes,” Carroll said.
“It’s good to have that flexibility to change depending on how we’re playing and who we’re playing.
“It’s good for our confidence. I know our whole team is good enough to match it with those top teams – it’s just about bringing it when we play them now and in the finals.”
Elsewhere, Lancefield was too strong for Rockbank, with the home side knocking off the Rams by 18 goals.
While it was tight early, an 18-goal third quarter for Lancefield broke the game open as Jordan Furness collected 13 goals from 14 shots on her way to 31.
Rockbank was able to compete well for three quarters, but could not stop the flow of goals from Lancefield’s attackers in the 54-36 loss.
Sunbury Kangaroos came agonizingly close to its first win of the season, fading late in the game as it went down to Riddell.
The Kangaroos held the lead at each of the quarter breaks and were seven goals up at half-time, but let the game slip in the final term as Riddell stormed home to win 43-40.
