Sport
1 July, 2025
Thunder determined in roadtrip to Stawell
Another early start and a couple of late callups did not stop Southern Mallee Thunder's Moddies girls putting on a top-notch performance.
Another early start and a couple of late callups did not stop Southern Mallee Thunder's Moddies girls putting on a top-notch performance.
A few of our older players are starting to settle into positions and are showing improvement every week, particularly our shooters.
After some work on holding and throwing into space at training, our players brought this into the game on Saturday, which had the coach very excited on the sidelines.
With a focus on front position, there were some excellent plays moving the ball down the court, resulting in goals.
Our defenders were, yet again, an excellent example of how to read the play.
There were loads of intercepts and there efforts were often rewarded by the attackers.
Our attack on the ball was fiercer with a lot of chasing and turnovers.
Well done to you all, and a big thank you to those who ended up with an earlier morning than planned.
Awards:
Mealsbox – Lola Huf: Lola was on fire in defence and caused many turnovers. Her player and spatial awareness continue to grow each week and her intercepting hands often cause the opposition headaches. Amazing, Lola.
Canteen – Scarlett Williams: Playing her best game for the season, Scarlett put on a strong mid-court performance. Her leads were better timed, her passes were efficient and she used her court space well. Keep building on those skills, Scarlett – well done.
UNDER 13s
We travelled down to Stawell and played in surprisingly, sunny and mild winter weather.
The team came out firing in the first quarter, delivering a strong and focused start that saw them only down by four goals at the end of the first quarter.
Pippa Fisher was relentless in defence, applying pressure all game and making life difficult for the opposition’s attackers.
Emma worked hard in goal keeper, working hard to stop the flow of Stawell’s goal shooter.
Felicity demonstrated her versatility, stepping into both attacking and defensive roles seamlessly and making a strong impact at either end.
Elka held her ground in wing dDefence, consistently applying pressure and forcing turnovers with her determined play.
Ava was a standout in the goal ring, combining smart movement and accurate shooting with impressive defensive efforts when the ball transitioned back down the court.
She switched from attack to defence effortlessly.
In the midcourt, Pippa Shannon, Layla, and Emily worked tirelessly to bring the ball into the ring, having to work hard on their leads.
Mia showed great adaptability, rotating between defence and Centre and coming up with some important intercepts.
Stawell’s strong defensive pressure saw them gain the upper hand in the second and third quarters but our girls didn’t give up.
They regrouped and fought back hard in the final quarter, matching Stawell goal for goal to draw the quarter.
Final score: Stawell 36 defeated SM Thunder 18
Awards: Elka Huf, Ava Puckle, Felicity Keller
UNDER 15s
The sun was shining for the Thunder 15s as they took on Stawell in a match that saw a few changes to the usual lineup.
Young guns Olivia Moore and Ruby Tragenza stepped up in goals, holding their own with fierce determination against a tall and fast-paced opposition.
Addi Fisher took on the centre position, impressing with her drive and poise as she brought the ball through the midcourt.
The defensive pressure from mid-courters Amaya and Giann Eckermann, Dakota Siepolt, Makenzie Roach and Lilly Puckle was outstanding, creating strong transitions from defence into attack.
It was great to see Luca Landrigan back at her favourite end of the court, where she applied relentless pressure both in the ring and through the court, earning numerous turnovers.
Lily Saul was a defensive force with her hands over every shot, and when shifted into goals she even managed to slot one herself – talk about versatility.
Well done to the team for staying focused on our game plan and not getting rattled by Stawell’s speed.
A strong team effort all round.
Final score: Stawell 44 defeated SM Thunder 4
Awards: Luca Landrigan, Lily Saul
UNDER 17s
The girls had a ripper of a second half after a rough start, with the mercy rule coming into play in the third quarter 56-6 Stawell’s way.
The girls came alive in the third quarter ready to fight, holding the mercy rule from coming into play until the very end of the quarter.
Defensive pressure could be seen all through the court with some brilliant shots going in from our shooters.
Best went to Elsa Byron, who was in for a fight as soon as she stepped on the court, from chasing lose balls in the mid-court to jumping for the rebounds in defence.
The second award went to Marlie Knorpp, working the midcourt brilliantly, feeding passes into the shooters and making excellent leads the whole game.
Final score: Stawell 56 defeated SM Thunder 6
Awards: Elsa Bryon, Marlie Knorpp
C GRADE
We travelled south to Stawell for round 11.
With unexpectedly fine weather the c grade girls were pumped up to play.
They had an excellent first half keeping close to the Warriors with Remy and Bronte shooting excellently.
Jordi Cocks joined us on the court for her first game in the thunder dress after a knee injury in 2023, and looked like she hadn’t missed a game.
Rach Watson provided a wealth on knowledge in the defensive end, gaining intercepts and deflections.
A rotating mid court gave lots of fresh legs and kept Stawell on their toes.
The second half saw thunder run out of legs as the Warriors surged forward with some sharp shooting and tight defence.
Final score: Stawell 43 defeated SM Thunder 27
Awards: Rachael Watson, Jordi Cocks
B GRADE
The girls in B grade had a well-fought game despite not quite ending in a win, with a final score of 61-48.
Through the season so far, the teamwork has improved every game with great passages of play down the court.
Our bests went to Coco Landrigan who played WD throughout the game, having a strong defensive pressure down the court, and Jaida Baldwin-Monk who played in GD, adjusting her defence style well to match her opponent.
Final score: Stawell 61 defeated SM Thunder 48
Awards: Coco Landrigan, Jaida Baldwin-Monk
A GRADE
Last time this Thunder A-squad played on the Stawell courts we lost our chance to compete in finals by a few goals in the last quarter – a feeling that has stuck with us and something we never want to feel again.
But on Saturday we overcame that fear ten-fold.
The first and second quarter saw us at an even match, Stawell making us work hard for every ball with their physicality and brute force.
With some movement in our mid-court from Codie, Jodie, Rylee, Taya and Connie, we were able to keep legs fresh which enabled some turnovers, pressure down the court and slick passing into our goal circle.
As the game moved into the second half we were able to pull away from Stawell pretty convincingly.
Our defenders Sydney and Abby had a tough match up but began to figure out what style of netball to play to defeat their opponents resulting in some classy intercepts and rebounding.
To capitalise on this, Steph and Emma were put to work to keep our heads above water.
They kept their game faces on with some tough defence from Stawell and shot magnificently.
It was a fierce and fiery fight but we got there.
Final score: SM Thunder 65 defeated Stawell 38
Awards: Steph Thomson, Abby White, Emma Mill
