Panthers secure second win of Ruby Series season with last-second defeat of Tigers

It came down to the last seconds, but the Darling Downs Panthers downed last year’s Ruby Series champions in a thrilling contest at home.

Jane Herrick. Picture: Kevin Farmer

NETBALL: Hearts were in mouths and fingernails chewed to bits, but the Darling Downs Panthers have another win on the board.

In a statement game against last year’s Ruby Series champions Tigers, the Panthers came away with a 54-53 victory in the final seconds of the game to send the sold out crowd at Downlands College home happy.

Coming into the final minute of play, scores were tied at 51-all, a pair of Khloe Fanning goals helped the home side to a 53-52 advantage.

A score from the Tigers once again tied proceedings with just seconds remaining on the clock, before the Panthers advanced the ball from the centre circle after a delay of game.

Jane Herrick threw a miracle lobbed pass into the goal circle, using Kaylin van Greunen’s height advantage to find the goal shooter at close range, nailing the finish and giving the Darling Downs its second win of the season.
“I was just about having a heart attack (on the sideline), it was very intense,” coach Bec Stower said.

“It was the result of really grinding out that whole game. We had a real focus on not allowing the Tigers to get a run on.

“They’re second on the ladder, but we never wrote ourselves off. We tried to break it down into mini goals, they grinded it out and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Despite coming into the contest on a three-game losing streak, the Panthers showed a determination to match it physically with their more fancied opponents.

Stower said the defensive pressure and willingness to engage in the contest was a big reason for the success.

“We displayed full court defensive pressure and just kept going with it. The girls didn’t have a rest,” she said.

“I told them there’s 60 minutes, so we can’t rest on defence or have lapses. I was really pleased with the full court defensive pressure, which made the jobs of our circle defenders that much easier.

“We did a good job of not letting them intimidate us. There was a bit of argy bargy, but that was us really wanting to take that win and not backing down.

“Our goal was to play good one-on-one defence and really try to get in their grills.”

The Tigers have been one of the strongest defensive sides in the Ruby Series, having previously not conceded more than 43 goals through four rounds.

The Panthers were able to make inroads, and Stower praised the efforts of young goal shooter van Greunen.

“Young Kaylin scored 45 of 49 attempts at 92 per cent,” she said.

“At 15 years old, it’s phenomenal. She’s really vying for a spot in the final 12 of the Queensland U17s team, so it’s important to step up at this level, and she’s doing that at a great volume and percentage.

“She’s had to work on her mental strength, and we’ve talked about strategies to get the tension out of her shoulders before taking pressure shots. It was a really good finish (to win the game).”

It capped off a big weekend for the club, with the U17s and U19s Panthers recording wins in their Futures matches.