Sunbury Lions’ confidence is growing – and so is its hopes of playing in a third successive grand final in the Ballarat Netball League.
After a confidence-boosting win against Redan in the first week of finals, the Lions were on top on the scoreboard all through Sunday’s semi-final against East Point.
After leading by 11 goals at three-quarter-time, the Lions faded but held on to win 49-43.
Conditions were difficult and coach Adam Boldiston said there was a distinct scoring end.
“The court slopes at one end. It’s hard work getting the ball into the circle and several lobs went over the base line,” he said. “The other end is more protected and easier to shoot at.”
The Lions made the most of the scoring end early in the game.
“We used that to our advantage and had a six-goal lead at quarter-time,” Boldiston said. “They came back in the second quarter to trail by three at half-time.”
The decision to bring on Ruth Smith at goal attack and switch the circle defenders paid off in the third quarter.
“I started with the two taller goalers in Chloe Curran and Abbey Healy but thought I needed more run and brought Ruth on,” Boldiston said. “That worked and we won the quarter by eight goals to be 11 in front.”
But the Lions knew they couldn’t slack off.
“I was never confident knowing they were shooting to the scoring end,” Boldiston said. “We stuck to our task when we knew they would come back at us.”
Boldiston said the composure of the younger players had impressed him.
“It was a team effort,” he said. “Chloe was fantastic, shooting 40 goals from 52 attempts. The other shooters weren’t as accurate but did their job. Ruth didn’t shoot much but was able to draw an opponent and free up Chloe.”
The Lions face Lake Wendouree in the preliminary final on Saturday for a spot in the Big One against North Ballarat City on September 19.
“The Lakers are a tall side all over the court,” Boldiston said. “We played them in round two in torrential rain and stayed with them for three quarters.
“It won’t be easy, but if we play the way we did this week I can’t see why we can’t win.”
Boldiston is hoping Kate Fletcher will return from injury this week.
It was a good weekend for the Lions with their A-reserve side winning into the grand final, while the B and C-graders also had wins and will feature in preliminary finals on Saturday.
Tara Murray
