HART Sapphire Series round 8 reviewed: Bull Sharks snatch victory, Titans continue reign
The Bond University Bull Sharks have levelled the playing field against the TAE Aerospace Jets in round eight of the HART Sapphire Series, but it was not all so glamorous. Read the full report.
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The Bond University Bull Sharks have levelled the playing field against the TAE Aerospace Jets in round eight of the HART Sapphire Series with an upset 57-50 victory in the Ruby league.
The coastal Sapphire side were hopeful Jets’ injury dramas would be enough to stump their top-of-ladder reign but were unable to gain momentum, going down by 20 goals (67-47).
It was nonetheless an improvement from their round three clash, where Jets trumped Bull Sharks by 30 goals in a show of dominance.
“We’re definitely on the improve but we’re just having too many lapses,” Bond head coach Bec Stower said.
“We had some really outstanding passages of play. “I felt like we were still in the game and then we let Jets have a 10-nill run on which is not exceptable in Sapphire Series,” she said.
“In the girls’ credit we did come out and win the last quarter.”
At 5pm, both teams stepped on court for the Ruby match with something to prove.
The Bull Sharks surged early to lead Jets by four goals in the first quarter, before a more competitive second quarter saw the Ipswich side kick into gear.
It was not the comeback Jets had hoped for, as Bond held onto their lead and strode out to a 10-goal advantage.
Quality shooting from Elka Macaulay, Chloe Arnold and Abby Boland ensured Bond capitalised on their turnovers and controlled the pace of the game.
The seven-goal victory means Bond and Jets have won one game apiece, after Jets gained the upper hand in round three (56-48).
The upset win bumps Bond into fourth spot on the ladder and forces Jets into fifth.
Round nine with feature a clash between Jets and the Brisbane South Wildcats, who are on the prowl for an upset win while Jets struggle to keep players fit.
Elsewhere in the competition, the Gold Coast Titans have once again outdone the ACU Brisbane North Cougars.
Titans Sapphire were without star shooter Cat Tuivaiti for the first time.
The former Silver Fern finished up her stint in round seven and jetted home to New Zealand, leaving Talitah FaiFai and Josie Bingham to do the hard yards.
Cougars seemed in just at much trouble, with tall-timber goal keeper Lillyana Rennie out with the flu and four Ruby players receiving the call-up.
An early four-point lead to the Cougars quickly turned into an 11-15 goal first quarter in Titans favour.
The coast side showed no sign of slowing down until the final quarter when they gave away a 12-goal lead to win by just four (49-45).
The Ruby match-up was much higher scoring than their round three clash which Titans claimed 33-28.
This time around the Gold Coast side pushed Cougars to the very end to win 53-50 and hold onto their top three ladder position.
Meanwhile, the Brisbane South Wildcats secured their second Sapphire win, this time overpowering the Sunshine Coast Thunder 49-33.
Solid shooting from Coco Smith despite a broken pinky finger and a stella performance from Ruby fill-in Kydan Tuapou asserted Wildcats’ hunger for victory from the get-go.
Thunder recruit Lexie Baker, formerly a Carina Leagues Club Tiger athlete, had a run in goal shooter but was unable to put a dent in Wildcats strong defensive line-up.
Wildcats goal defender Halle Geyer was the star of the show, putting pressure over every ball and stopping Thunder from delivering easy feeds to their attackers.
It was a different story in the Ruby league as Thunder claimed their first win of the season 37-59.
The result means Thunder escape the wooden spoon position on the Ruby ladder, jumping over the Barastoc Panthers on goal percentage.
The Tigers’ Sapphire team relished a bye round while their Ruby team travelled to Toowoomba where they defeated the Panthers 70-30.
Tigers now lead the Ruby ladder outright ahead of Cougars and Titans in second and third spot.
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