Saints shocked with loss to Hoppers

MYRTLEFORD’S A grade netball squad was given a timely reality check ahead of finals, with an upset 46-51 loss to North Albury at home on Saturday. Despite a positive start, the Saints started to fall away in the middle quarters, as the Hoppers applied court-wide pressure and shot cleanly. From a three goal deficit at half-time, the Saints trailed by eight heading into the final quarter. Despite a titanic performance from ever player, Myrtleford was unable to claw the margin back enough. Co-coach Olivia La Spina said the result came at the right time to ensure the side gave every single match everything they had. “It’s obviously disappointing to have a loss like that, but I think it’s also a timely reminder that if we’re not bringing that energy each week, it’s just as easy to lose the game,” she said. “We had a pretty good first quarter, but the second quarter we had a lapse and that allowed them to get back into the game. “It’s a really great reflection on the league and how close the competition is. “To North Albury’s credit, they played really well and they’ve been building across the last couple of weeks – they only lost to Lavington the other week by two goals, so we knew they certainly were not going to be easy. “Maybe coming off the back of last week’s win we took the foot off the pedal a little bit, but now we know we can’t afford to do that against any team.” The result came on an important day for star player Bec Piazza, who played her 300th A grade match, a feat not many have achieved. “It’s such a great achievement, it’s actually quite hard to grasp how many games that is, especially A grade games,” La Spina said. “To be at the top of your game for that long is a credit to her. “We had a few people say a few different words at the start of the game, and we had a bit of a presentation for her, so it was really nice.” The Saints will be galvanised by the loss and keep to rectify it this weekend, taking on top two side Wangaratta at the showgrounds. “We’re definitely excited going into it,” La Spina said. “It’ll be tough, they’re one of the benchmark teams – we went close to them last time, only losing by a goal (34-35 in round eight), which definitely sets the fire in the belly a bit to make sure we put in a good performance this time around. “We know these guys are the benchmark, and we strive to have the consistency they do, so hopefully we can go one or two goals better than last time and get the win.” In other matches, the B grade side triumphed with a 46-36 win, while the C grade (27-33), 17 and under (20-63), and 15 and under (28-40) sides all suffered losses.

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