The Riddell District Netball League overcame a slow start to take out a second straight win in the WorkSafe AFL Victoria Community Championships, beating Central Highlands Netball League on Saturday.
It wasn’t the start the RDNL was after and it found itself trailing by 10 goals in the first half against a side that was well drilled.
The RDNL made changes across the court and slowly worked itself into the game and in front.
Once in front in the last quarter, the RDNL stayed there, winning 45-43.
RDNL coach Ciara Stewart said it was obvious that the CHNL had spent a bit of time training together.
She said her side was stoked with the win.
“They have been training together twice a week for four weeks and knew how to play each other,” Stewart said.
“We had seven good players individually on the court, but it took us a long time to play with each other.”
Stewart, who also took on playing duties when Chloe Wilson had to withdraw, said once they got the right combinations and figured out each others’ games, they were fine.
One change was the move of Stewart into goals at quarter-time to give the side a moving goal circle.
“They had a goal keeper that is taller than any player in our league,” Stewart said.
“We needed a quick moving circle, so Bec [Morabito] and I played together as two short goalers.
“We did a lot of passing off and protecting to get some good shots.”
Another major move was the change-up of the mid court in the middle of the game, which happened when Chelsea Kemp went off injured.
Stewart said they had been talking about making a switch before Kemp hyper extended her knee. The injury meant Caitlyn Alifraco went into wing attack, Karlee De Bono into centre and Anica Scherer into wing defence.
Bec Morabito was awarded the best on court medal for the RDNL, shooting 31 goals for the game.
“It would have been super hard to pick someone from our team, as no one stood out. Everyone played their role, but no one was awesome.
“Bec shot 90 per cent of our goals, so she deserved it.”
The RDNL’s under-17 team also defeated CHNL, winning 36-22. Woodend-Hesket’s Charlotte Crook was best on court for the RDNL.
