Sport
27 August, 2025
MCDFNL Week One Finals Review - Netball
Avoca's winning streak continues, scoring their 50th consecutive win, defeating Maryborough by 22 goals in week one of the Maryborough Castlemaine District Football Netball League finals.
By Jonathan Peck
Avoca vs Maryborough Giants
Avoca’s outstanding unbeaten streak has reached the landmark milestone of 50 games after ruthlessly pulling away from the Maryborough Giants in the second half to advance to their fifth consecutive preliminary final.
It has been 836 days since the Bulldogs last tasted defeat back on May 13, 2023, taking themselves one step closer to back-to-back-to-back premierships.
The Giants were hoping to capitalise on their watershed win over Natte Bealiba the week before to earn their first finals victory in A grade.
However, Avoca flexed its muscle early, generating some early turnovers to score the first five goals of the contest.
Immediately behind in the match, the Giants wasted no time making alterations, bringing on in-form shooter Abbey Devereaux into goal attack while Ruby Saunder was shifted into defence where she made a game-changing impact versus the Swans.
Those chances did help the Giants recover from their early setback, but they couldn’t make any sustainable inroads on the Bulldogs’ advantage, with the favourites leading by four at quarter time.
Avoca shooters Maddy Egan and Gina Beavis showcased their almost telepathic chemistry with midcourters Stacey Blair and Faith McKenzie.
Egan led the way with 12 goals while Beavis forced the Giants’ defence to remain vigilant of her with five goals.
Star shooter Lacey Broad had some early misses for the Giants, but created several double chances with her rebounding and found her groove quickly to convert nine shots.
Devereaux made an instant impact off the bench, scoring all three of her attempts while Saunder added one before moving to the other side of the court.
With Avoca threatening to take control of the match, the Giants begin to claw back in the second quarter.
Some timely intercepts and efficient movement in the midcourt allowed the underdogs to level the scores at 21 apiece midway through the term.
The two teams traded goals for the rest of the quarter, meaning Avoca’s lead was slashed down to one at the main break.
Despite limited gametime as a pair this season, the partnership of Broad and Devereaux remained fruitful. Broad took full advantage of some great lob passes from Ella Hocking and Alisha Hovey by making all 11 of her attempts in the second period, while Devereaux scored one.
Even with limited chances thanks to the coverage of Saunder and Julie Anderson, Egan and Beavis kept the Bulldogs in front, combining to go a perfect nine from nine in the quarter.
The Bulldogs and Giants both made some adjustments to start the second half, hoping to find an edge in the premiership quarter.
Like they have done on countless occasions during their 50-game unbeaten streak, Avoca were presented a small opening and ruthlessly capitalised, putting their opponents under pressure with a meticulous run.
The Giants tried everything to derail their opponent’s momentum, but the Bulldogs train continued to steam along to a double-digit advantage by three-quarter time.
Egan’s clinical shooting played a key role in Avoca’s stellar quarter, punishing the Giants with 13 goals while Beavis netted three.
Playing in her first A grade game since round 13, Kodie Smith made a cameo at shooter for Avoca, scoring three.
Broad and Devereaux tried their best to keep the Giants in touching distance, combining to score nine goals from 10 attempts.
Trailing by 11 goals heading into the final quarter, the Giants needed an outstanding start to have any chance of an unforgettable come-back.
Avoca were having none of that. Keisha Tonzing and Caitlin Drummond capped off another stellar performance marshalling the Bulldogs’ defence by allowing only six goals in the last period to help secure a 62-40 victory.
Egan brought her game-high goal tally to 43 goals with 12 in the last quarter, while Beavis made all five of her attempts to finish with 16.
Broad was the Giants’ leading scorer with 31 goals at an 86 percent conversion rate, while Devereaux scored eight goals from nine attempts for the match.
Natte Bealiba vs Carisbrook
Carisbrook have booked their place in the preliminary final after holding their nerve against Natte Bealiba, victorious by seven goals in a hard-fought match.
Natte have now suffered back-to-back defeats, hoping to get back on track quickly when they play Lexton in the semi-final.
With both teams looking to prevent their opponent’s high-powered offence from getting on a roll early, the first quarter was a relatively low-scoring affair.
The midcourters had to work extremely hard to find any space to receive the ball, leading to limited chances for shooters to build momentum.
After a tense first quarter, it was the Redbacks who held the early advantage, up by two goals at quarter time.
With the Swans still adjusting to their new shooting tandem of Emma Ryan and Ashlee McClelland, the ball was being funnelled to Ryan, who scored all of Natte’s 12 goals in the opening term.
While there was slightly more space for players to maneuver around in the second quarter, it didn’t translate into one team gaining a noticeable upper hand.
The teams traded mini breaks and strong passages throughout the period, which ended with Carisbrook slightly extending their lead to four goals at half time.
With Redbacks defenders Maggie Tranter and Finley Wagstaff doing everything they can to limit Ryan to 11 goals, McClelland began to show her shooting range with three goals.
Determined to assert control, the Swans started to chip away at the Redbacks’ lead in the third quarter, moving within one goal midway through the term.
However, Carisbrook quickly regained their composure with Tranter and Wagstaff in defence and Laura Hurse and Katie Bilton in the midcourt, allowing them to rebuild a five- goal lead into the final break.
Nalder continued to have a brilliant game with 11 goals in the period. McClure was a key distributor to Nalder in the third while also adding two.
Ryan kept the Swans in touching distance by netting 12 goals. Looking to secure a preliminary finals berth, the Redbacks upped their defensive pressure in the fourth quarter, especially in their defensive third, forcing Natte to make several extra passes to find an opening in the goal circle.
Not only did this prevent their opponents from generating consistent offensive momentum, it also limited their opportunities to make a comeback.
Forced to take extreme risks late, the Redbacks pounced with several key intercepts to seal the victory over the Swans.
Defenders Ellie Martin and Bella Westbrook had a great last quarter for Natte, but McClure stepped up when her team needed it most, scoring all seven of her attempts in crunch time.
Ryan finished with a game-high 45 goals, closely followed by Nalder, who ended on 36.
Talbot vs Newstead
For the second straight season, Talbot will meet the Maryborough Giants in the semi-final after the Hawks took care of a spirited Newstead by 22 goals.
After having the bye in the last round of the home and away season, the Hawks were eager to make their mark, getting off to a strong start before dominating the second quarter 17-6 to set the stage for their third finals win in two years.
Elenoa Costello played a massive role in the Hawks’ start, making the most of some early transition chances by scoring an impressive 17 goals from 18 first-quarter attempts to lead her team to a nine-goal lead at the first change.
Phelps also had an impressive opening 15 minutes, capped off by going three for three from the field.
While it was their offence which led the way in the first quarter, Talbot’s defence took over the match in the second term.
The introduction of Abbey Klemm off the bench to wing defence for Melissa Scott gave the Hawks an injection of energy in the midcourt, while Jess White and Jane Costello did a masterful job marshalling the goal circle, particularly with their defensive rebounding.
It resulted in Talbot ballooning their lead to 20 goals at half time.
Elenoa Costello remained virtually unstoppable in the second period, netting 12 of 13 attempts while Phelps remained perfect with five successful shots.
Gale and Jury had some shooting struggles thanks to White and Jane Costello, with Jury finishing the term with five while Gale added one.
Needing to overcome a sizable deficit in the second half with their season at stake, Newstead rose to the challenge and brought the fight to Talbot in the third quarter.
While Chelsey Williams and Zoe Douglass had more luck slowing the Hawks’ advances, the midcourt duo of Jessica Currie and Katie Tong helped Newstead up their scoring rate to 18 goals in the period.
Despite the Steaders comeback, the Hawks remained in the prime position with a 14-goal advantage heading into three-quarter time.
Elenoa Costello cooled slightly to begin the second half, yet still managed to score 11 goals while Phelps sank one.
Jury and Gale both finished the third term with nine goals to keep the door slightly open for Newstead.
However, the Hawks slammed the door on the Steaders thanks to consistent turnovers at the start of the fourth quarter and never looked back, finishing another finals triumph with an exclamation point.
With Elenoa Costello on the bench in the last term, finishing with a game-high 40 goals. Phelps had more chances to showcase her shooting talent by scoring 14 goals to end the game with 23 goals with a stunning 92 percent conversion rate.
Shianne Milera took Elenoa Costello’s place in the final quarter, netting two.
After going a perfect five for five in the last 15 minutes, Jury ended with 23 goals, closely followed by Gale’s 20 successful shots.
Navarre vs Lexton
A dominant 27-12 second half was the catalyst for Lexton to overcome rivals Navarre in Sunday’s elimination final by 22 goals.
Trailing by four goals at the first change, the Tigers’ defence roared into action, holding the Grasshoppers to an average of just over six goals for the last three quarters.
After earning a win at their opponents’ expense in the home and away season, both teams were confident of their chances of extending their season for another week.
Similar to their encounter a fortnight ago, scoring was hard to come by in the first quarter, with Lexton and Navarre applying serious defensive pressure early.
Thanks to the efforts of Sophie Flood and Jade Allen in defence, as well as shooter Chloe Frank opening the game by scoring nine of her first 10 shots, the Grasshoppers entered quarter time with a four-goal lead.
Brianna Hyslop assisted her shooting partner’s hot start by netting four goals in the first period.
In a surprising move, Lexton’s Kirsty Sizeland made her first appearance at shooter this season.
The decision worked early with Sizeland scoring two and helping Leesa Donhardt lead the way with five goals from six attempts. Teenager Charlize Kennedy also added two for the Tigers.
After being on the back foot in the first quarter, Lexton took over in the second term, going on several runs which flipped the game on its head.
Tigers defender Sarah Griffin was spectacular throughout the quarter, coming up with some outstanding intercepts to limit the Grasshoppers to seven goals for the period.
Lexton took the lead midway through the second and never looked back, building a seven- goal buffer at half time.
The Tigers were mounting serious pressure on the Grasshoppers on both sides of the court, with Donhardt and Kennedy combining to score 18 goals from just 20 shots in the second quarter.
Frank and Hyslop did what they could to answer back when entry passes weren’t stopped by Griffin, with Frank scoring four and Hyslop netting three.
Navarre desperately needed to start the second half with authority to swing the game’s momentum back in their favour.
Player-coach Sidney Dyer seemed to be everywhere in the midcourt, interfering with multiple Lexton passes to bring some much-needed energy to the Grasshoppers.
However, Lexton’s defensive pressure was even more potent, stifling their opponents to four goals in the third term to extend their advantage to 13 goals at the final break.
The Tigers were utilizing their bench to maintain their high-level pressure, with the likes of Brodey McKay, Abbey Lewis and Evelyn Reid building on Griffin’s second-term heroics.
Kennedy ensured Lexton stayed on top with eight goals while Donhardt added two. As for Navarre, Frank and Hyslop both scored two goals each.
With 17 goals in the last quarter, Lexton ensured Navarre couldn’t unleash a late-game rally, earning their way to another finals matchup with Natte Bealiba.
It will be the third time in four seasons the Tigers and Swans collide in the finals, with Natte 2-0 in those previous fixtures.
Veteran Leesa Donhardt had a spectacular performance on Sunday, finishing with 27 goals, which included 12 in the final quarter, with a shooting percentage of 90 percent.
Kristy Hadler made a strong late cameo off the bench, netting five of her six attempts. Frank was Navarre’s top scorer with 20 goals for the match after adding five in the final quarter. Erin Jackson joined Frank in the goal circle late, making all three of her attempts.