The Busselton Magpies 15s travelled to the Leschenault Leisure Centre to take on MLC. Coach Rae Hathaway rested a few players and reduced the team to nine players, with the inclusion of a few players that were previously unavailable.
Asha Hughes (GA, GD, GK) displayed flexibility by shooting for the first half, then performed soundly in defence in the second half. Kaitlyn Tucker (GS, GA) proved a great scoring option with well positioned leads and offensive rebounds. Tamsin Falconer (WA) intercepted the first centre pass of the game, led well into space and fed the shooters accurately throughout the game. Ella Griffin (C, WD) had an impressive game, with valuable interceptions throughout the game, many of which resulted in goals. Jessica Schwier (WD, WA) consistently ran hard, presented reliable leads and fed well into the shooters. Perri Hathaway (GK, GD, C) provided strong defensive pressure and intercepting during the game. Arielle Hockey (GD, GK) was tough in defence and was a useful target in the centre third as the team transitioned from defence to attack mode. Isabel Legros (C) provided powerful passing and feeds into the shooters, along with some great intercepts. Nikira Brock (GA, GS) was brought on for the second half and was dependably accurate with her shooting and positioning, as the team is now accustomed to. The Magpies came out firing in the first quarter shooting 21 goals to MLC’s eight goals. MLC rallied in the second quarter with a good fight back but were still outscored by three goals for the quarter. The half-time break result was Magpies 35 to 19. The Magpies lifted in the second half, outscoring MLC in the third and final quarter by 11 goals and eight goals respectively. It was another convincing win for the Magpies, the final score was Magpies 70 to 35 goals.
Magpies Reserves flexed their mental muscle through a rare black spot versus South Bunbury to storm home with a 23-goal final term and take the win. In an evenly matched 19-20 first half, South Bunbury took front attacking space and fought past some impressive takes from GK Yas Riley on tall shooter Abby Levendekkers. Magpies Centre Meg Bolton and Ash Farmer’s defensive work rate countered high unforced errors across the court to stay in the game. Shooter Steph Millen was airy and accurate early. In the third Magpies shooters were pressed hard by South Bunbury's Wallis and Nuske, suffering a loss in accuracy to record just one goal. Magpies Clair Garnaut was blistering in Wing defence, pressuring with GD Shukia Riley to pile on intercepts. 21-25 behind, defensive intensity and speed from Bolton and GA Beckett wore down a tiring South Bunbury to snatch the win 44-33.
The Magpies open team took on South Bunbury with an extremely slow start. The Magpies took a while to settle in against the hard working South Bunbury, just keeping ahead 14-10.
Coming into the second quarter, the Magpies took the opportunities given to them and held their lead with a 30-21 goal margin.
Third quarter left the Magpies dynamic duo, Emma Borinelli and Maia Bratton with fire in their belly, helping the team swiftly move the ball into the attacking circle.
The final quarter involved the swing of Borinelli down to defense with the remarkable intercepts from Tamara Thornley, limiting the South Bunbury team to only 6 goals. The Busselton Magpies took the win, with a 62-40 score line.
