Yesterday saw the culmination of the 2022 Australian Netball Championships, with the Southern Force edging out the highly fancied Vic Fury to take out the title.
Other winners on the final day were the Capital Darters, West Coast Fever Reserves, Giants Academy and Queensland Sapphires.
CAPITAL DARTERS 20 | 13 | 12 | 18 (63)
TASMANIA 11 | 16 | 10 | 8 (45)
The Capital Darters have finished off their campaign on a positive note, defeating Tasmania by 18 goals.
A nine goal lead at quarter time was a sign of things to come as although the Tasmanians won the second quarter, it was not enough as the Canberrans won the other three.
For the Darters, It was Millie Roach (23 from 25) and Nalani Makunde (20 from 21) who led the way on the scoring front, while Taylah Davies (25 feeds and 18 assists) and Lakita Tombs (33 feeds and 26 assists) were busy through mid court.
Meanwhile for the Apple Islanders Ashlea Turner top scored, but not even she could match the volume from their opposition. Shelby Miller (26 feeds and 18 assists) also had a great game.
WEST COAST FEVER RESERVES 17 | 15 | 17 | 11 (60)
SUNSHINE COAST LIGHTNING 15 | 15 | 13 | 12 (55)
In the 7th vs. 8th battle, it was the Fever Reserves who finished off what was looking like a promising start to the tournament with a win over the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
Like many of the other matches yesterday, it was a tight affair for much of the game, with the margin no more then a few goals at any one time.
For the Fever Reserves Nat Medhurst (31 from 32) and Sloan Burton (29 from 32) shared the goal shooting duties fairly evenly, while Numi Tupaea (17 feeds and 12 assists) had a good game in mid court.
Meanwhile for the Lightning, Annika Lee-Jones easily topped the tally, while Annie Miller (25 feeds and 17 assists) had a strong outing in mid court.
GIANTS ACADEMY 13| 10 | 14 | 10 (47)
SWIFTS ACADEMY 13 | 9 | 10 | 14 (46)
In the 5th vs. 6th play off of the NSW sides it was the GIANTS who prevailed by the narrowest of margins against the Swifts.
It was extremely tight in the first half, with neither team able to get a run of more then two goals in a row.
Things opened up a bit in the second half as the GIANTS got on a bit of a run, but they still had to survive a late Swift fightback before they could bank the win.
For the GIANTS Matisse Letherbarrow took a back seat as Ange Frketic took the lead with the bulk of the shooting, while Amy Sligar was again stellar through the mid court.
Meanwhile for the Swifts, Jessica Conlan had a terrific game in mid court, finishing with 21 feeds and 15 assists, while Alison Miller again led the way with the bulk of the shooting.
COLLINGWOOD 17 | 20 | 13 | 14 (64)
QUEENSLAND SAPPHIRES 14 | 18 | 20 | 20 (72)
Collingwood certainly picked a bad time to suffer their only two losses of the tournament after they lost their second game in a row in the Bronze Medal Match, this time to the Queensland Sapphires.
Collingwood actually had the better first half, but then the Sapphires rallied in the final two quarters to take the eight goal win.
Charlie Bell led the way for the Sapphires from a scoring perspective, while Leesa Mi Mi had another stellar game, finishing with 44 feeds and 33 goal assists.
Meanwhile for Collingwood Maggie Lind finished with 29 feeds and 26 assists, while Zoe Davies finished with four intercepts.
VIC FURY 13 | 10 | 14 | 20 (57)
SOUTHERN FORCE 17 | 15 | 13 | 14 (59)
Despite being the underdogs heading into the game, it was the Southern Force who have pulled out the win over the Vic Fury to take out the 2022 Australian Netball Championships.
They came out of the blocks and raced out to a nine goal lead at half time, but then the Victorians back and won the third quarter. They also had a stellar final quarter, but unfortunately for the Fury, they only won the fourth term by six goals, so they ultimately fell agonisingly short.
For the Force, Tyler Orr (24 feeds and 20 assists) had another stellar game, while Lucy Austin only missed two shots and provided the bulk of the goals.
Meanwhile for the Fury, Emma Ryde was again the star under the ring, only missing two shots, while Jordan Cransberg (19 feeds and 12 assists) had a solid game through the mid court.
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