Coming off a bye last weekend, the ladies had a slow start but soon gained possession of the ball and made several runs with winger Tamsin Foy determined not to give up the ball and getting some great passes across to the forwards. 

Shannon Wright also made some lovely crosses but unfortunately the quality of the ANU keeper kept the Yass girls from finding the back of the net. Rose Murphy and Ruth Riach worked tirelessly to hold the midfield together and didn’t give the ANU any room to move.

 A couple of superb corners from Jacinta Murphy gave the ladies more opportunities but the size of the field was against her with the ball travelling almost the entire width of the pitch. With a team of 16 available, Coach Farnell was able to keep substituting players to keep the pace of the game up and the ANU certainly kept the ladies moving. 

Sonia Davis, who had pulled on the keepers’ shirt for the first time, hoping to put some of her renowned netball skills to good use, was successful for the first 30 minutes of the game until a lucky ball from ANU got past the back line and found the back of the Yass goal. This took the game to halftime with Yass still unable to score.

Despite the cold weather, things started to heat up in the second half with the defensive duo of Katrina Farnsworth and Michelle Beadman being tested by ANU forwards. Tamsin Foy (also playing goalie for the first time) seemed quite comfortable in the position making some good saves. It was looking like a very close contest until ANU managed to score again causing the Yass ladies to start to drop their heads.  

Time was running out and the ANU piled on the pressure but was denied any shots on goal by Taylah Wright and Ingrid Davis who refused to give ground despite some aggressive play by ANU. Rose Murphy, yet again, proved her ability to play anywhere on the pitch by moving to a defensive position and holding firm against some very strong pressure. The day was saved by newcomer, Natasha Walsh-Devoe playing her debut game, who was perfectly positioned in the goalmouth and slotted Yass’s first goal of the day past the keeper. This certainly put the fight back in the entire team and the ladies picked up the pace with Sonia Davis taking control of the midfield, which earned her the Player’s Player accolade for the match. Bek Gallagher and Victoria Alley started to bombard the ANU goal to no avail and it looked like it was going to go ANU’s way but Jacinta Murphy, having fought her way through the ANU defensive line several times only to be shut down by the ANU keeper, wasn’t going to let anything stop her from scoring, which she did in the final minutes of the game. 

Overall, it was a good game, which all players walked away from feeling proud despite it being a 2-2 result. Next week Division 4 will take on old rivals, Belwest with a 2pm kick off at Walker Park.

Division 3

It was another fantastic line up of Lady Redbacks Division 3 on Sunday on a cold but clear field in Wanniassa. 

The girls were a commanding presence from the get go, dominating possession and, after scoring 2 early goals, continued this same intensity for the duration of the game. 

Their opponents, Weston Molonglo, hadn’t stood a chance against the Redbacks tight attack and defence. Apart from the occasional slip along the uneven and uncut field, there wasn’t much to fault in the Yass team.  

The wind picked up in the second half but the girls managed to keep the momentum going. 

With regular keeper Georgia Allen out of goals, replaced with king sweeper Amy Alley, Allen was determined to have a ball enter the back of the net. Her prayers were answers only moments into the second half with a strong strike she bypassed the keeper and, stunned, claimed her first goal of the season. 

The Redbacks kept pounding Weston Molonglo’s defence, Jacinta Murphy even trying her luck to shoot for goals from the backline, many attempts were either too strong or not strong enough. 

Despite the close calls, the girls still walked away with a resounding win of 9 nil. Victoria Alley claimed 2 goals,  Ash Parker 1, Sarah Dowling 1, Georgia Allen 1,  Shannon Wrightt stole 2 and Jacinta Murphy also took 2. 

The Player's Player vote was awarded to Rose Murphy, whose tenacity for pressure and pure determination made her the asset for the day. 

The girls will be playing a home game this weekend at Walker Park from 12pm against last year’s rivals Belnorth. The Yass community is encouraged to come out to show the girls some support on Sunday.