Cairns Netball: Late Leps surge quells Cutters comeback
Leprechauns have returned to their winning ways after holding off a brave South Cairns Cutters at Cairns Netball on Wednesday night.
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Leprechauns have returned to their winning ways after holding off a brave South Cairns Cutters at Cairns Netball on Wednesday night.
The Round 8 Senior Division 1 clash centred on the middle quarters as Leprechauns produced a huge second stanza, before the Cutters came storming back.
In the end, the 2019 grand finalists had too much for their rivals, running out 48-38 winners to claim their fifth win of the season and all but lock up third spot on the ladder with two rounds remaining.
Both sides battled slippery conditions in a scrappy opening stanza, with Leps taking a one-goal lead at quarter time.
Cutters made Leps work for everything in the second, but loose passing in attack didn’t help their cause as the Leps won the quarter 14-9 to hold a seven-goal advantage at the big break.
A string of turnovers to start the second half gave the Cutters a chance to get back in the game and they rode the momentum to take the third quarter 11-8 and trail by just four goals at the final break.
Cutters got within two goals in the fourth quarter but wayward passing would again creep into their game, as the Leps were effective in turning Cutters’ errors into points.
The Leps would score seven of the last 10 goals in a defiant final quarter to claim victory.
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“We pushed Emma Lardner back into wing defence and the return back onto the court of Prinny (Chantelle Tikitau) is always going to make a big difference,” said Leps assistant coach Stacey Hart.
“We certainly went back to a strengthened positional team to come away with the win.
Lardner was a key player as Leps steadied the ship late, while Tikitau and her younger sister Sera-Lee showed composure to knock down their shots.
Shana Boseria, Gabby Walter and Emma Sorrell were among the Cutters’ best.
“It was a slow start to the game, the weather conditions were not ideal for netball so it certainly impacted the way we played,” Hart said.
“It was good that we came away with the win but there’s probably a lot of things to work on at training as well.
“Each week we are improving, so it’s hard to pinpoint one area.
“We come up against Phoenix next week, which will be a really tough game, so our preparation will be solely focused on combating the Phoenix team.”
RESULTS — ROUND 8
Leprechauns 48 d Cutters 38
Fierce 57 d Saints 26
Sharks 50 d Tigers 18
Originally published as Cairns Netball: Late Leps surge quells Cutters comeback