Omega Netball Club News

After a couple of good results on the last two Monday night games, with a win against Cheshunt 6 and a draw last week against Flames, we’re ready to give Wodson Aqua a good game.

The starting seven are GS – Ellie Reynolds, GA – Lauren Ahern, WA – Louise Merrick, C – Shannon Mooney, WD – Neave Parsons, GD – Millie Pickard and GK – Lauren Lee, with Holly Bennett and Yasmin Rogers on the bench.

The first quarter doesn’t start as well as we’d like, with Wodson Aqua managing to secure the ball into their shooters consistently and the shooters accurately scoring the goals, whilst Omega struggle to keep possession of the ball, with many balls skimming our fingers and either going off the side line or being picked up by the opposition.  When we find our shooters, the goals are on target, but maintaining possession in our attack is an issue and the opening quarter ends with Wodson leading 14-4.

A change at quarter time sees Holly Bennett take the WA position and Yas Rogers taking the WD, resulting in Neave Parsons and Louise Merrick taking the bench.  The team are told to snatch in to secure the ball and to try to hold on to possession of it.  The team take heed of the advice and the quarter starts well with both teams scoring consistently, resulting in the quarter score starting as 6-7 to Wodson.  However, Wodson then tighten up and take the next 5 goals, before Omega get back into their flow.  The Wodson GA finds her partner GS in the circle, popping the ball to her at every opportunity and their accuracy is rewarded each time.   Great inter-passing is seen between the shooter, Ellie and Lauren and they are once again accurate in their shooting. The solid support from the circle edge players, Holly and Neave allows them to also feed in and out to gain a better shooting position.  A much improved quarter from the team, with the quarter score of 7-14  to Wodson and a half time score of 11-28.

Another change at half time sees Shannon Mooney and Lauren Lee taking the bench and Louise returning to WA and Neave working with Millie in the defence circle as GK.    Having watched the Wodson ball popping from the GA to GS, Neave is aware of the need to communicate with Millie to help close this down.  As with the rest of the game, some great linking is visible with the court play, linking the ball well all down the court, however Wodson are a tough opposition and again punish every error Omega make, increasing their lead each time.  Omega try to out-run there players instead of using a change of direction, which allows Wodson to steal many a ball.  The quarter ends with a game score of 16-40 to Wodson.

The final quarter and the final change, reverting the team back to their starting positions.   This is the best quarter for Omega with more displays of great inter-passing from the shooters and some controlled play all the way down court.  Millie is on fire this quarter, intercepting on several occasions in our defensive end, helping to keep the opposition’s score down to a minimum.   The score this quarter is 7-9 to Wodson, so a closer quarter.     The game ends with a final score of 23-49, however this score does not reflect the court play.

Player of the match is awarded to Lauren Ahern by the opposition…well done Lauren.

The team are now consistently scoring in the twenty’s every game and many umpires are commenting on the improvement they see in their play.  Keep going girls…..it’s definitely coming together!

Their second game of the new season and Omega Youths meet Hornets 1 in the HDNL fixtures.   With one of the reserves being called in to work at short notice, Holly Bennett steps up as reserve and Paul Merrick obliges as scorer.  An additional change to the team mid-week with Ellie Reynolds set to play out of position at WA, due to another work call.

The team take the court and struggle to maintain ball ownership to find their shooters and Hornets capitalise on the pressure they apply, taking a swift lead.    Omega take time to settle and show signs of fatigue early in the game, with a request to leave the court at the first interval, but show flashes of controlled play.  Advice is  given to the team on ball placement, confidence  to shoot when in the shooting circle and  timing the move for the pass.

With reserves, Holly Bennett and Rachel Toye taking the court at C and WD for the 2nd quarter and some advise given by their coaches, the team are a little more controlled, but Hornets prove a tough opposition once more as they increase their lead in the game further.

Millie Pickard and Louise Merrick return to court in the 3rd quarter with rested legs, replacing Jodie Gill at GD and Ellie Reynolds at WA.  The team think about their passing more, and some steady and solid play is evident, with GK Lauren Lee reading the ball well and picking up some great balls through interception in the circle.

The final quarter and the final change to the squad sees Ellie Reynolds taking the centre position, a position unfamiliar to Ellie and never played in a game before, but she takes up the challenge with gusto and provides a solid link in the mid court.  Additionally, Jodie Gill returns to court, replacing Rachel and the rested legs result in more controlled feet.  The final score for the game is 39-14 to Hornets.

Evidence of some solid play during the game with longer passes and movement into space is encouraging.    Fitness is key for working on in the coming weeks, along with circle holding and marking…some key pointers for training!

A winning night for the Omega 3rd team squad.  A great night of play from the team, dominating the match play from the initial whistle.  They maintained ownership of the ball and won many an interception throughout the game, ensuring they had possession majority of the match.   Their opposition could not contain them.

With a lead of 15 – 3 in the 1st quarter.  A team chat from their captain, Nikki Hewitt, to maintain composure and not become complacent and the team take the court ready to end the season on a winning streak.

Some superb inter-passing, coupled with many a ‘dummy pass’ between the shooters, Emma Kousoulou and Chloe D’Arcy, followed up with consistent goal conversion allowed the team to sustain and increase their lead throughout the remainder of the game.   The strong defensive play by Jenny Hutchings and Beth Foster, putting off their opponents and winning rebounds and tips within the circle and great court play by Hannah Troianno, Kayleigh Burke and Nikki Hewitt bringing the ball down the mid court, finding their shooters with accurate feeds, all contributed to the final score of 49 –  11 to the winning Omega squad.

Tonight’s game was their final game in the Turnford Summer League, culminating in the overall winning of the division.  This was not only achieved tonight, but throughout the season, with great team play from additional squad members, Abby English and Martha Rodman in previous games.    A great achievement, with fantastic team effort and camaraderie in all games.  Well done team for a well deserved win, gaining promotion for next season!

Omega were unlucky to loose their first game to Cheshunt 2 in the Broxbourne and District Netball League, by 1 goal.

Their first game was a wet and slippery one, resulting in the first and second quarters being a bit frantic, with both new and existing players finding their feet after the summer break.   By half time, Omega were down by half the score.

In the third and fourth quarters, the game flowed much better.  The team slowed down the play and gave shorter passes, working the ball from the defence to the attack more skilfully.

The team showed great teamwork throughout the game, supporting and encouraging eachother at all times.  They fought hard to close the gap, finishing the game with just one goal in it!

A big thank you to Anna Rogers, for playing out of position in the defensive circle to help the team out, and welcome back to Emma Faulkner, who played her first game after returning from knee injuries.