The top four teams met on the weekend with Wallan playing Diggers Rest at Romsey Park to see who will earn a place to play in the next round of the Riddell District Football Netball League (RDFNL).
Wallan Coach Spencer Mathieson said the qualifying finals are a test.
“We have great respect for Diggers Rest, they are hard to beat at any time, let alone in the finals,” he said.
As soon as the siren sounded, Wallan’s ruckman sent the ball to their end, and Wallan exploded with three early behinds and a goal at the 32 second mark until the Diggers staged a comeback. At the eight-minute mark, the scores were 22 each, but unfortunately Wallan went into the second term with a 27-point deficit.
“The Diggers had the better of the first half. They had 15 scoring shots at goal, and were working harder than us,” Mathieson said.
Three seconds into the next quarter, Wallan quickly kicked the first goal, answered with scores from Diggers. The game changed in Wallan’s favour near the 10-minute mark, with Reuben Rode’s goal then Chris Stewart’s back-to-back. Going into the final quarter, Wallan’s work rate had decreased their deficit to 11 points.
“To our players credit we lifted, and our pressure without the footy got a lot better,” Mathieson said.
Wallan’s Lachlan Inness’s goal near the four-minute mark of the final quarter levelled the scores to 65 points each, and all the players increased their work rate and conceded not one more goal to their rivals.
The final score in Wallan’s favour was 12.8 (80) to 9.13 (67).
“It was a great win and should give us plenty of belief going into next week. We’re looking forward to another great challenge,” Mathieson said.
Elimination final
Romsey played Macedon at Diggers Rest Recreation Reserve on Sunday.
The opening quarter saw the teams keeping up with each other. Romsey scored three behinds followed by a goal near the 12-minute mark, but Macedon then worked their way into the game and fought for every point to create a safe distance from their rivals.
The wind in the third quarter made it a low scoring affair, with two late goals from Macedon.
Goal kickers were Jack Kernan on three and Matthew Dick on two, while James Wright, Brodie Hoyne, Bradley Cooke, Xavier Morgan, Lachlan Hay, and Sam Indian each kicked one. The game finished in Macedon’s favour, 11.6 (72) to Romsey 6.12 (48). Romsey is now out of the competition until 2025.
Round 2 of the finals will be played over next weekend with the headline match between Riddell and Wallan to be played Saturday at 2pm at Romsey Park. The next day, Diggers Rest will see if they can best Macedon, and they will also play at 2pm at the Gilbert Gordon Reserve in Woodend.
The preliminary final round will be held on Saturday, September 7 at 2pm at the Kyneton Showgrounds, and the winner will go on to compete in the RDFNL Grand Final.
2024 RDFNL Senior Netball Competition
In the Qualifying Final, Wallan played Riddell on Saturday at Romsey Park.
A crowd of faithful supporters cheered on the women, and it was a close game.
The scores were level at 25 when the whistle blew to signal the end of the third period, but unfortunately for Riddell, Wallan’s players scored seven more exciting goals, and finished in front with the final result being 32-29.
Wallan Goal Shooter Maeve Donegan netted 21 goals
Goal Attack Rebekah Konstantopoulos netted 11 goals.
Next week, in the semi-finals, Woodend Hesket will compete against Wallan at Romsey Park, on Court 1 at 12.50pm. Riddell will challenge Melton at the Gilbert Gordon Reserve in Woodend at 12.50pm, and the winners of those matches will compete against each other in the Grand Final on Sunday, September 15, again at Romsey Park on Court 1 at 12.50pm
