IT was a bitter-sweet day for Dederang-Mount Beauty’s A grade netball team, who suffered their first defeat for the season last Saturday.

In what can be one of the most daunting road trips in netball on the border, the Bombers lost to the more experienced Kiewa-Sandy Creek by nine goals, 33-42.

The match was truly a tale of two halves as the Hawks started the quicker of the two teams, trailing by five and nine goals after the first two quarters with a 15-24 scoreline.

After half-time, it was the Bombers who lifted their intensity and skill level to match it with the league’s benchmark, with both defences working overtime in the second half to even out the last two quarters.

Despite the loss on the scoreboard, coach Alex Dyde took some positives from the game.

“Even though we didn’t take the win, it was a sensational game of netball and we are still very happy with our performance,” Dyde said.

“We took a few risks this week with combinations and had a few clear game strategies going into the match, both of which paid off.

“The second half really showcased what we can offer so we are excited to face them again later in the season and hopefully get it over the line next time.

“We are definitely seeing a pattern of the last half of the game being our strongest and having the stamina to push through.”

With an eye now on this Saturday against fifth-placed Thurgoona in Mount Beauty, fourth-placed Dederang-Mount Beauty have every chance of getting the job done, according to Dyde.

“Thurgoona are another great competitor – they are more physical than Kiewa, so it will be a different game, but we are extremely adaptable and predict it’ll be a close game that could really go either way,” she said.

“We know that if we can get a good start and take an early lead then we should be able to maintain it and hopefully take a win.”

DMB’s senior football side also had to contend with a Kiewa-Sandy Creek team that are expected to feature deep into September, but ended up suffering a mammoth 248-point mauling.

After four quarters to forget, the Bombers had a brief moment of joy in the final term thanks to a goal from skipper Jacob Ozolins.

The Hawks had twelve individual goal kickers that contributed to the scoreboard that read 37.33 (255) to 1.1 (7) after two hours of one-sided football.