Thomastown 3 produced an impressive performance in their Northern Football Netball League Section 8 battle with Greensborough 3, winning by 16 goals at La Trobe University Sports Stadium.
The Bears won all four quarters, with a 17-8 opening half setting up the 34-18 triumph.
After losing their opening five games of the 2023 season, Thomastown has now won two straight games and is in the mix again to compete for finals. While the Boro couldn’t back up their four-goal win over La Trobe 2 last week.
It was another strong shooting effort from the Bears’ Dayna Geddes, who shot 19 of her side’s 34 goals for the night, while Jade Higgins provided a strong backup, scoring a season-high 15 goals.
Claire Poulter and Lauren O’Rourke proved to be a terrific duo in the midcourt. Their feeds into the shooting circle were difficult to stop while when they didn’t have the ball, they applied constant pressure towards their opponents.
They were also key contributors to the Bears’ brilliant transitional play throughout the match, which was a catalyst to their triumph.
Greensborough’s Chanel Dimitrijeska was a highlight for her side in the two quarters she played. Her consistent efforts on wing defence and wing attack were brilliant, while shooters Elizabeth Hobley and Laura Melenhorst finished with nine goals each.
The Bears settled into the game quicker and didn’t take long to establish an early lead. Geddes shot six of her side’s 10 goals in the first term defensive duo Lauren Dillon and Tilly McLauchlan well disciplined.
Thomastown continued that momentum into the second quarter with the shared ball movement between the two shooters as well as wing attack Lauren O’Rourke, proving to be a tough combination to break.
Greensborough were able to increase their scoring slightly but saw themselves trail nine goals at halftime.
The ‘Boro produced their best quarter of the match in the third term, as they started to create more of an attacking flow, keeping up with the continuous Thomastown scoring.
However, most of their shots were made difficult thanks to an impressive Bears backcourt. Claire Poulter was a highlight in the term, as her role as a linkup player allowed her side’s transitional work to reach its full potential.
Thomastown won the term again and took an 11-goal lead into the final break.
Greensborough was determined to close the gap in the last quarter but could only muster three more goals.
Meanwhile, their opponent’s momentum continued into the last stanza of the match, with an eight-goal quarter sealing their second straight win in the competition.
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