Netball
30 June, 2024
Demons win thriller to remain unbeaten
Laharum remains unbeaten in the Horsham District Football Netball League following a one-goal thriller against Rupanyup. At the end of the game, the scoreboard showed a 43-43 draw, but the scoresheet showed Laharum winning 43-42, so they were declared winners.
With both teams being in the first two positions of the ladder, the game would always be hotly contested, and it didn't disappoint when the Panthers took a two-goal lead into quarter-time.
The Panthers then wrestled momentum in the second quarter, scoring 12 goals to eight to lead by six points at half-time.
It was goal for goal in the third quarter, but the Demons got a few consecutive shots to bring the margin back to a point at three-quarter time.
The pressure was tense in the last quarter, but the Demons prevailed late in the game, winning 43-42.
Caitlin Jones-Story led the way with a game-high 31 points for the Demons, with Maddison Iredell scoring 12. Zanaiya Bergen scored 24 for the Panthers, with Bianca Drum coming from SA to play her first game for the Panthers in 2024, after playing eight in 2023, chipping in with 18 at goal-attack.
Demons coach Rebecca McIntyre said the final score wasn't as controversial as people made it out to be.
"We all thought it was a draw, and we were fine with that, as it was a good game of netball," McIntyre said.
"Our captain, Olivia Jones-Story, went over to the scores to count the goals as she always does at the end of each game and saw that something didn't add up.
"We went through the process, and everyone was happy in the end."
McIntyre said Rupanyup was tremendous and that they had to be brilliant to defeat them.
"It was a good test, and to come back from being seven or eight goals down was an even better show," McIntyre said.
"We will focus on what we can do to improve, and we will continue to look to keep improving week in and week out."
After a few weeks out, Mel Russell came back into the team, so the Demons were full strength. McIntyre said it was a team performance while highlighting a couple of players.
"Olivia Jones-Story was great in the centre, and Caitlin Jones-Story was amazing in shooting," McIntyre said.
"Rylee Hateley was great in wing defence, but keeping our proper seven on the court showed it was a great team effort, especially as we could dig deep and come back from a reasonable deficit.
"We haven't been down by that much all season, and to show that we can come back from it is a big thing for us moving forward and hopefully will put us in good stead come finals."