Sport
13 May, 2025
Semi-final rematch sees Carisbrook victorious
In another chapter of a competitive rivalry in recent years, Carisbrook closed the book on Lexton in the second half, grabbing a 20-goal victory.
Taking four points from the Tigers is a slice of revenge for the Redbacks, continuing their unbeaten start to 2025 at the expense of the team who knocked them out in the 2024 semi-final.
The final scoreline doesn’t showcase how tight the contest was, as it was Lexton who got the early jump on Carisbrook, leading 11-8 after a hard-fought first quarter.
Defenders Brodey McKay and Sarah Griffin did a wonderful job of halting the Carisbrook attack early with some well-timed interceptions, effective shot pressure and tenacious defensive rebounding.
Player-coach Jordan McClure was forced to distribute to shooting partner Abbey Nalder often, with Nalder scoring seven and McClure adding one.
Not to be outdone, the Redbacks’ Finley Wagstaff and Chloe Egan did well to limit the output of Tigers shooters Anna Parry and Leesa Donhardt, with the former scoring eight and the latter netting three.
The game remained tight when play resumed after the break,
but this time it was Carisbook who had the slight edge, winning the second quarter 14-12 to reduce the deficit to one.
After managing to wriggle away from the defence of McKay, McClure sank all eight of her shots in the second term, with Nalder netting six.
Donhardt and Parry also improved their output in the second, with Donhardt leading the way with seven goals and Parry scoring five.
With the ‘premiership quarter’ looking to be a vital 15 minutes of play in this match, the Redbacks came out of the changerooms on fire, taking the lead early and never looking back to take an eight goal lead after a 16-7 quarter.
Nalder and McClure couldn’t be contained forever, scoring eight goals from their 11 attempts each.
While the Carisbrook attack vaulted into another gear, the Redbacks midcourt and defence prevented the Tigers from doing the same, conceding only 13 shots in the third.
Parry and Donhardt had to be perfect to allow Lexton to keep pace and they tried their best, netting five and two goals respectively.
Determined not to let their impressive third quarter go to waste, the Redbacks pulled away from the Tigers late, peaking at the end of the game with an 18-6 final term.
The Redbacks midcourt trio of Katie Bilton, Paige McLean and Millie Cassidy were instrumental in the final term, restricting entry passes to Parry and Donhardt while dissecting the Lexton defence, giving their shooters 27 chances at goal.
Nalder converted 13 of those chances while McClure scored five, while Donhardt netted four for Lexton and Parry added two.