It was a physical start for the Rochester A-grade girls against Shepparton Swans. They fought hard but Swans were able to pull through with the win, 41 to 35.
Bridgette Holt and Maddy Eggleston played tight defence and put great defensive pressure on the goalers, with the help of Tess Ringin chasing down every loose ball.
Strong-angled drives from Ella Roulstan and Ellie Cuttriss in the mid-court helped bring the ball down and open up the court. Jaimie Dingwall and Teal Hocking combined beautifully in the goaling ring, both shooting accurately.
Jaimie took some nice intercepts along with her attacking team, while Teal held strong against physical defence. Best players awarded to Jaimie Dingwall, Bridgette Holt and Tess Ringin.
B-grade
It was another great game by Rochester B-grade girls against Shepparton Swans. Annie Hughes and Sahra Brooks had the hot hands, working well in the ring together.
It was a close first quarter but Rochester held a two-goal lead. The Swans brought a tight defensive game, making every ball hard to get. Linda and Anna managed to get a touch to every ball in the defensive end and never gave the Swans’ attackers an inch, keeping them to only seven goals in the second quarter.
Fresh legs entered the court with Ava coming into centre and the return of Maddy Holt after having her baby into WD. Rochy kept a huge lead throughout the whole second half. Rochester 53 defeated Shepparton Swans 34. Award winners for the week were Sahra Brooks, Maddy Holt and Annie Hughes.
B-reserve
Rochester’s B-reserves came out fighting against the Swans in a tight first quarter. Kaitlyn Joyce worked hard across the whole court taking some crucial intercepts resulting in goals for the home side. This allowed Rochester to try to reel in Swans. Alyse Stroobants and Ella McPhee combined well together in the ring.
Noami Riordan provided strong feeds into the goalers and ran hard all day, keeping her opponent honest. Ash Flanagan had eyes for the ball in defence, taking impressive intercepts while working alongside Kate Lee in the ring creating turnovers and shutting down Swans shooters.
The game was incredibly close the whole time, with the Rochy girls never dropping their heads, persisting all the way to the very last whistle. Rochy went down by 10 goals in a tight last quarter. Best on was awarded to Naomi Riordan, Ash Flanagan and Matisee Martin.
Under-17s
It was a defensive, hard-fought game on Rochester's home court. Both teams applied pressure across the court, creating many opportunities, with neither team taking more than a two-goal advantage in any quarter.
While opportunities were there, Rochester was not able to capitalise on the scoreboard through the many turnover balls. The Swans’ goalers were accurate in the goal circle and were able to make the most of their gains, converting on the opportunities provided to secure a 34-33 win.
Best on awards this week went to Ava Cottam, Kaitlyn Joyce and Poppy Palmer.
Under-15s
An intense game for our 15 and under girls this week, going down 27 to Shepparton Swans 46. The Swans came out firing in the first half, making it extremely hard for Rochester to get into the game.
In the second half Payton had some really strong holds followed by beautiful goals helping out the team. Sophie had strong drives through the centre court opening up wonderful passages of play.
The Swans continued their intense play, making very few errors, causing Rochester to trail by 17 at the final break. Rochester girls continued to fight. Grace and Maddie worked tirelessly in defence, making good use of every turnover.
In the last quarter the girls kept the Swans to just seven goals; however, it was not enough to win them the game. Best on was awarded to Payton Tiller, Grace Moyle and Sophie Joyce.