TRFM Gippsland League have again placed themselves as one of the premier netball competitions in the region by taking home three titles at the Netball Victoria Eastern Association Championships.
Traralgon Netball Association's Breed Street courts played host to the event which included leagues, competitions and associations competing from the entire region spanning Phillip Island to Orbost. Sunday's event was key to Netball Victoria’s Talent Identifications programs which provide players with an elite pathway. The Gippsland program had amazing numbers trial for the teams in 2017. The league puts in plenty of work into driving and developing the netball representative teams and the support of Metricon homes, the major partner of the netball representative program, saw the league able to enter the maximum 6 teams on the day.
In the 17 & Under Championship division TRFM Gippsland League had two teams competing. Due to the limited number of teams entered in the reserve division Netball Victoria made the move and combined the two competitions creating a 9 team event on the day. Our championship side TRFM Gippsland League Blue (pictured above) backed up their strong showing from the Worksafe Community Championships taking out the title during an undefeated run on the day. GL Blue made the final with 8 wins from the round robin competition and would meet the new West Gippsland FNC in the semi-finals, running out winners 19 goals to 3. In the final GL Blue again put on another solid display with victory over Alberton FNL 18 goals to 9. The GL Red team had two wins on the day and which also included a draw and a one goal loss to Sale NA.
The 15 & Under championship division was a nail biter. Gippsland (Pictured below) went into the final as heavy favourites after a 16 goal to 6 victory over West Gippsland FNC in the round robin
stages. The final would be a different picture and came down to the final whistle with Gippsland triumphing by one goal 12-11. The girls had a big win in the semi-final defeating Mid Gippsland NA 21 goals to 4 which would be their second consecutive game against Mid Gippsland on the day. In the round robin stages the team was dominate with 9 wins and a percentage of 343%.
The 15 & Under Reserve division followed a similar storyline to the championship grade with Gippsland and WGFNC meeting in the final. On this occasion it was all Gippsland coming away with a comfortable 13-2 win to take the title. The Gippsland team (pictured below) was completely dominate on the day with 9 wins from 9 with a percentage of 563% which included the defence only conceding 33 goals in 11 matches. This strong showing was a sign from the turnout of numbers that trialled for the 15 & Under teams where there was extra selections held to finalise the Reserve team.
Our 13 & Under teams both had strong tournaments with the Championship and Reserve team making the final. The Championship team finished the round robin event with just the one narrow 3 goal loss to Sale NA. In the semi-final the team defeated Bairnsdale NA 10-6 to setup a rematch with Sale. The final was a competitive affair but the Gippsland team could only manage 7 goals which would not be enough to claim the title. Sale finishing winners 12-7.
At the top of the table the 13& Under reserve was the most competitive completion on the day. Sale NA and Gippsland both went into the finals with 8 wins from their 9 games. Gippsland had suffered a one goal loss to Sale in the round robin and Sale had been defeated by Moe & District who finished fourth. In the semi-finals Sale managed to reverse their fortunes against Moe with a 12-7 win. Gippsland again accounted for West Gippsland 12-6. The final was a one sided affair with Sale dominating the match to take the title 10-2.
Last Modified on 29/05/2017 15:32