Banks Bulldogs continue to show they can match it with the premier league’s best in win over Pints

BANKS Bulldogs continue to impress in their first season in the Darwin Netball Premier League after securing a 44-32 win over reigning premiers Pints

Round 5 Darwin Netball Premier League: Tracy Village Falcons v Banks Bulldogs at Territory Netball Stadium, Marrara. Hillary Grubb with the ball. Photograph: Che Chorley

BANKS Bulldogs continue to impress in their first season in the Darwin Netball Premier League after securing a 44-32 win over reigning premiers Pints.

The Bulldogs struck quickly with Hillary Grubb bringing plenty of intensity and athleticism from centre court to give her side the early lead.

And Banks’ full court pressure in the early stages had them on the front foot for much of the game, particularly with the accuracy of their shooters Kristen Smits and Mickayla Ward.

Jayne Walsh also had another standout game in goal defence for Banks to force mistakes and turnovers from their opposition.

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But the reigning premiers Pints rallied late in the piece to narrow the scoreline with Aaliyah Bailey in the scoring and Liz Paice bringing some go forward from the defensive end. It was too late by then for the outfit that has faced plenty of personnel change since winning the title in 2020.

Banks coach Sally Talbot was proud of how well her side had taken to the challenges of the premier league in their first year in the top level.

And with aims of a top-three league finish the Bulldogs are looking for more of the same in what is shaping up to be a competitive season.

“The girls are starting to combine now spending more time together which is coming out on court,” Talbot told the NT News.

“Our goal was whole court pressure. Hard one on one pressure is something we’ve practiced hard on in training and it showed in the first half.

“Pints came back strong particularly in the last quarter where we lost the intensity but our first half showed our strengths and showed what we can do as a new premier league side.

“Our side is a mix of our premier reserve squad from last year and some strong recruiting in the off-season with many being from sporting backgrounds so they’ve bonded quickly.

“Any given night every game is tough and we can’t let our guard down against any given side.”

Nightcliff posted a strong 40-29 win over Hoggies, while Waratahs ended Tracy Village’s unbeaten streak, winning 33-26 over the Falcons.