One scintillating quarter of sparkling netball is all it took for Inverloch-Kongwak to overtake Tooradin-Dalmore as ‘premiership favourites’ on Saturday.
It’s a title that Tooradin has held since day one of its journey in the WGFNC, which began with a premiership in 2019.
Even all the way through those dastardly Covid-years of 2020 and ’21, the Seagulls were widely regarded as the best team going around.
But things changed at a blustery Inverloch Recreation Reserve on Saturday, with the home side producing a staggering start to what was expected to be a very close contest.
At 17-6 at quarter time…this one was effectively over!
The Sea Eagles burst out of the blocks with Tayla Robb (GA) scoring 11 first-quarter goals and Kelly Boyd (GS) six, but it’s what was happening in the other two-thirds of the court that was most impressive.
Rahni Mann (WD), Lanni Pryor (WA) and Kelsey Buxton (C) were outstanding through the midcourt, while Tayla Smith (GK) and Renee Pilkington (GD) refused to concede an easy goal in defence.
The Seagulls scored just six in the opening term, with Alex Maher (GS) and Kayla Bratic (GA) unable to break the shackles.
The Sea Eagles then inflicted further damage on the reigning champs, scoring 11-7 in the second term to lead 28-13 at half time…before cruising home to a 48-31 victory.
Inverloch coach Jarrad Walker was understandably thrilled with his team’s performance, particularly the fast start.
“We just spoke about what we wanted our netball to look like, and spoke about how this game in particular was a real statement around what our team culture is, what our club culture is, and what we want to put out to the league,” Walker said.
“They just really responded to that, they clicked into gear early and took off from there.”
Walker has been working hard in recent times to improve an already lethal defence, with Smith and Pilkington two of the best defenders in the league.
“They are experienced and they know exactly what they’re doing, but over the last few weeks I’ve worked with them on what I’d like to see against the likes of Tooradin and Bunyip and those types of teams,” he said.
“For them to put out a performance like that, to keep them to single digits in all four quarters, was testament to the work done with those girls and the effort they have put in.
“We’ve worked really hard on what we want it to look like, and what we want to restrict, so it was pleasing to see it play out the way it did on the weekend.
“The girls are all learning new things, they’re being challenged, and I think they’re enjoying that environment.”
Despite the ease of the victory, Walker knows Tooradin will hit back hard.
“I do expect them to bounce back, they’ve got a great coach (Kelly Haynes) who has worked at VNL level for a long time and really knows her netball, so she’ll be picking apart the game and working on ways to improve,” he said.
“We’ve trained for other options, so the next few weeks for us is now about running different scenarios around what could happen in finals.
“There’s still Covid hanging around, so things could change quite quickly and we need to make sure we’ve got all bases covered.”
Inverloch has the bye this week, while Tooradin faces a tough home game against Bunyip.
Nar Nar Goon produced one of its best performances of the season on Saturday, walking away from a dangerous trip to Phillip Island with a 58-40 victory.
The Goon defeated the Bulldogs by just one goal at Spencer Street in round eight, but upped the ante on the weekend with a super-impressive win.
The Goon was back to its free-flowing best, with 58 goals its third-highest score for the season.
The Goon hosts the Dusties this week; while Phillip Island will start underdogs against Dalyston – who had a 65-45 win over Warragul Industrials.
The fourth-placed Magpies just keep winning of late and are applying real pressure on Tooradin and Bunyip in the battle for second place.
In other games, Garfield is enjoying back-to-back wins for the first time this season after the Stars proved too strong for Kooweerup, winning 55-32.
It’s great reward for Garfield, who has had a better season than what its 4-12 record might suggest.
The Stars will look for a third-consecutive win against Cora Lynn this week, while Kooweerup hosts Korumburra.
And Bunyip has taken its record to 11-3 with a 48-21 triumph over Korumburra-Bena.
The Bulldogs are an explosive team to watch and will be keen to replicate their incredible 69-35 victory over Tooradin when the two teams collide at Tooradin this Saturday.
The winner will likely earn the double chance in finals, while the loser will have to win the flag the hard way.
Cora Lynn had the bye.
WGFNC RESULTS – ROUND 14
A GRADE: Cora Lynn 20 v Kilcunda Bass 0, Garfield 55 v Kooweerup 32, Inverloch-Kongwak 48 v Tooradin-Dalmore 31, Korumburra-Bena 21 v Bunyip 48, Phillip Island 40 v Nar Nar Goon 58, Warragul Industrials 45 v Dalyston 65.
B GRADE: Cora Lynn 36 v Kilcunda Bass 59, Garfield 58 v Kooweerup 34, Inverloch-Kongwak 33 v Tooradin-Dalmore 45, Korumburra-Bena 22 v Bunyip 63, Phillip Island 41 v Nar Nar Goon 36, Warragul Industrials 44 v Dalyston 77.
C GRADE: Cora Lynn 57 v Kilcunda Bass 18, Garfield 31 v Kooweerup 18, Inverloch-Kongwak 44 v Tooradin-Dalmore 16, Korumburra-Bena 20 v Bunyip 57, Phillip Island 27 v Nar Nar Goon 23, Warragul Industrials 14 v Dalyston 43.
D GRADE: Cora Lynn 19 v Kilcunda Bass 40, Garfield 33 v Kooweerup 23, Inverloch-Kongwak 37 v Tooradin-Dalmore 18, Phillip Island 11 v Nar Nar Goon 60.
17 UNDER: Cora Lynn 36 v Kilcunda Bass 28, Garfield 11 v Kooweerup 41, Inverloch-Kongwak 32 v Tooradin-Dalmore 26, Korumburra-Bena 33 v Bunyip 11, Phillip Island 50 v Nar Nar Goon 20, Warragul Industrials 14 v Dalyston 65.
15 UNDER: Cora Lynn 13 v Kilcunda Bass 20, Garfield 0 v Kooweerup 20, Inverloch-Kongwak 32 v Tooradin-Dalmore 9, Korumburra-Bena 38 v Bunyip 29, Phillip Island 37 v Nar Nar Goon 17, Warragul Industrials 9 v Dalyston 33.
13 UNDER: Cora Lynn 24 v Kilcunda Bass 6, Garfield 16 v Kooweerup 41, Inverloch-Kongwak 16 v Tooradin-Dalmore 24, Korumburra-Bena 29 v Bunyip 8, Phillip Island 43 v Nar Nar Goon 13, Warragul Industrials 26 v Dalyston 5.
11 UNDER: Cora Lynn 11 v Kilcunda Bass 11, Garfield 6 v Kooweerup 5, Inverloch-Kongwak 21 v Tooradin-Dalmore 12, Phillip Island 3 v Nar Nar Goon 30.
WGFNC NETBALL LADDERS – ROUND 14
A GRADE W L D F A % PTS
Inverloch-Kongwak 13 1 0 716 347 206.34 52
Tooradin-Dalmore 12 2 0 609 445 136.85 48
Bunyip 11 3 0 761 438 173.74 44
Dalyston 11 3 0 555 388 143.04 44
Nar Nar Goon 10 4 0 607 512 118.55 40
Phillip Island 8 6 0 681 557 122.26 32
Cora Lynn 6 8 0 498 491 101.43 24
Korumburra Bena 5 9 0 456 554 82.31 20
Garfield 4 10 0 491 597 82.24 16
Warragul Industrials 3 11 0 496 796 62.31 12
Koo Wee Rup 1 13 0 320 785 40.76 4
Kilcunda Bass 0 14 0 0 280 0.00 0
B GRADE W L D F A % PTS
Tooradin-Dalmore 13 1 0 816 480 170.00 52
Bunyip 12 2 0 727 411 176.89 48
Phillip Island 12 2 0 725 522 138.89 48
Nar Nar Goon 10 4 0 670 436 153.67 40
Inverloch-Kongwak 10 4 0 640 452 141.59 40
Dalyston 9 5 0 683 584 116.95 36
Kilcunda Bass 5 9 0 589 614 95.93 20
Garfield 4 9 1 478 644 74.22 18
Cora Lynn 3 10 1 455 687 66.23 14
Korumburra Bena 2 11 1 451 662 68.13 10
Koo Wee Rup 2 11 1 405 660 61.36 10
Warragul Industrials 0 14 0 409 896 45.65 0
C GRADE W L D F A % PTS
Bunyip 14 0 0 620 203 305.42 56
Dalyston 12 2 0 525 312 168.27 48
Garfield 11 3 0 496 320 155.00 44
Inverloch-Kongwak 10 3 1 561 285 196.84 42
Nar Nar Goon 9 4 1 410 310 132.26 38
Cora Lynn 7 6 1 396 378 104.76 30
Phillip Island 7 7 0 405 380 106.58 28
Tooradin-Dalmore 4 9 1 309 376 82.18 18
Koo Wee Rup 4 10 0 277 434 63.82 16
Korumburra Bena 2 12 0 307 485 63.30 8
Kilcunda Bass 2 12 0 266 565 47.08 8
Warragul Industrials 0 14 0 206 730 28.22 0
D GRADE W L D F A % PTS
Inverloch-Kongwak 11 0 0 472 191 247.12 44
Bunyip 9 2 0 459 207 221.74 36
Dalyston 9 2 0 462 212 217.92 36
Nar Nar Goon 9 3 0 454 237 191.56 36
Kilcunda Bass 6 6 0 337 335 100.60 24
Tooradin-Dalmore 4 7 0 264 395 66.84 16
Garfield 3 8 0 260 373 69.71 12
Cora Lynn 2 10 0 242 402 60.20 8
Phillip Island 2 9 0 221 466 47.42 8
Koo Wee Rup 2 10 0 204 517 39.46 8
Korumburra Bena 0 0 0 0 20 0.00 0
Warragul Industrials 0 0 0 0 20 0.00 0
17 UNDER W L D F A % PTS
Dalyston 14 0 0 696 240 290.00 56
Korumburra Bena 13 1 0 550 260 211.54 52
Phillip Island 12 2 0 702 344 204.07 48
Inverloch-Kongwak 10 4 0 557 328 169.82 40
Bunyip 7 7 0 428 401 106.73 28
Tooradin-Dalmore 7 7 0 438 414 105.80 28
Cora Lynn 7 7 0 398 406 98.03 28
Koo Wee Rup 6 8 0 341 398 85.68 24
Nar Nar Goon 3 11 0 343 493 69.57 12
Kilcunda Bass 3 11 0 323 526 61.41 12
Warragul Industrials 2 12 0 248 644 38.51 8
Garfield 0 14 0 137 707 19.38 0
15 UNDER W L D F A % PTS
Phillip Island 13 1 0 479 224 213.84 52
Inverloch-Kongwak 13 1 0 380 196 193.88 52
Korumburra Bena 11 3 0 395 274 144.16 44
Bunyip 9 4 1 367 247 148.58 38
Dalyston 9 5 0 297 285 104.21 36
Nar Nar Goon 7 6 1 318 294 108.16 30
Kilcunda Bass 6 8 0 250 314 79.62 24
Koo Wee Rup 5 8 1 273 302 90.40 22
Tooradin-Dalmore 4 10 0 260 319 81.50 16
Warragul Industrials 3 11 0 261 415 62.89 12
Cora Lynn 2 12 0 212 362 58.56 8
Garfield 0 13 1 0 260 0.00 2
13 UNDER W L D F A % PTS
Phillip Island 13 1 0 500 162 308.64 52
Koo Wee Rup 12 2 0 439 195 225.13 48
Nar Nar Goon 11 3 0 398 185 215.14 44
Cora Lynn 10 3 1 326 162 201.23 42
Warragul Industrials 10 4 0 332 209 158.85 40
Tooradin-Dalmore 8 5 1 238 162 146.91 34
Korumburra Bena 5 7 2 225 213 105.63 24
Inverloch-Kongwak 6 8 0 204 228 89.47 24
Garfield 3 11 0 164 344 47.67 12
Dalyston 3 11 0 75 320 23.44 12
Kilcunda Bass 1 13 0 91 429 21.21 4
Bunyip 0 14 0 68 451 15.08 0
11 UNDER W L D F A % PTS
Nar Nar Goon 12 0 0 351 34 1032.3 48
Inverloch-Kongwak 10 1 0 219 61 359.02 40
Tooradin-Dalmore 8 3 0 126 77 163.64 32
Dalyston 7 4 0 111 72 154.17 28
Phillip Island 6 4 1 129 142 90.85 26
Kilcunda Bass 4 7 1 90 161 55.90 18
Cora Lynn 3 8 1 86 169 50.89 14
Koo Wee Rup 3 8 1 71 145 48.97 14
Bunyip 1 10 0 65 214 30.37 4
Garfield 1 10 0 30 183 16.39 4
Korumburra Bena 0 0 0 0 20 0.00 0
Warragul Industrials 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0