THE 17s and Open Sapphire Coast Representative teams travelled to Goulburn on the weekend of April 18 for the South Coast Regional State League.
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The Opens team were the defending 2014 champions and were keen to replicate that victory. Some new players to last year's make up meant experimenting with different combinations for coach, Michelle Kelly.
Day 1 commenced with solid victories over Illawarra and Eurobodalla, with the game of the day being against Goulburn.
After a fairly even first half, an incredible defensive display led by circle defenders Michelle Kelly and new recruit Kayla Jordan kept an experienced Goulburn team scoreless in the second half.
Another convincing win followed against the Goulburn 19s team to leave Sapphires top of the table after Day 1.
Sapphire continued on their winning way in the semis on Sunday with a commanding 22 - 8 victory over Illawarra, with new players slotting in seamlessly throughout.
The Grand Final against Goulburn was a 17 - 9 victory, with shooters Katie Paul and Mariclare Houssenloge standing strong against some rugged defense.
Coach Michelle Kelly heaped praise on the whole team, especially those new to the team, and was delighted with the combinations these new players offered.
The 17s opened Saturday's campaign with a 20 - 10 victory over Eurobodalla despite a slow start.
Another slow start saw the team 5 goals down against Queanbeyan. This lead was slowly whittled away before an injury to key defender Kiarna Rodwell saw major defensive changes needing to be made. The girls never recovered from this and went down by 7.
Despite another sluggish start they won the final game against Wollondilly 20 - 13, leaving them second in their pool group after Day 1.
Quarter finals on Sunday saw a 25 - 15 victory over Wollondilly, to move on to the semis against Queanbeyan. Shooters Amy Badewitz and Nikki Tarlinton shot well against extremely tough defense, but Sapphires were still unable to overcome Queanbeyan.
This moved the team into the third placed playoff against the runner up of the other pool group Kiama. This was a close affair all game, with Sapphires mid court of Hannah Mullens, Breanna Newton and Isobel Willoughby bringing the ball up court with speed.
A handy 4 goal lead approaching the end of the game crept down to 1 goal with defenders Ainslie Mann, Mardi Longford and Darci Roberson battling hard to hang on. A 17 - 16 victory and third place overall to Sapphire Coast.
