Section 1
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The Phoenix has risen and finally spread its wings as the finals approach.
Corowa Red has been the sleeping giant all season and the way they dispatched Corowa Blue on the weekend they must now be considered genuine flag contenders.
There wasn’t much between the sides for long periods of the match as they traded sets but it was Red’s steadiness in a crisis that saw them hold a slender lead heading into the mixed sets (5 game & a 2 set advantage).
Corowa Red’s Scott Francis and Marianne Spencer put the result beyond doubt with an 8-1 win and the icing on the cake was winning the last 2 sets to give red a comfortable victory and bragging rights.
Apart from Scott and Marianne, Corowa Red had good contributors in Blake Spencer, Melissa Rhodes and Craig Spencer.
Blue although beaten weren’t totally disgraced as Greg Filliponi, Peter Filliponi, Jamie Almond and Claire Davidson continued to put pressure on the Red team all day.
Without any fanfare Wang Hardcourt continue to go about their business as usual and keep racking up wins and unobtrusively have moved to 2nd on the ladder from where they can plan an assault on the flag.
This week it was Chiltern that felt the force that is Wang Hardcourt and at no stage did Hardcourt allow Chiltern a chance to gain any momentum and to get themselves into the match.
There was none better than Mario Pane for Hardcourt and for Chiltern Jarrod, Debra and Erin McKinnar and Sally Ivanka toiled against the odds.
Section 2
Boorhaman have had a very consistent season and a convincing performance on Saturday against Everton White has them within arm’s length of playing finals again this year.
Their fate rests in their own hands and another 2 competitive games will see them knocking on the finals door although they may need to have other results go in their favour to ultimately taste finals action.
Everton White were no match for Boorhaman in the end but Everton were a remote chance with 2 sets to go to snatch an unlikely draw.
However, the experience of the cagey Boorhaman veterans came to the fore and they iced the game with 2 wins.
Darren Saward and Kirsty Tyers each won 3 sets for Boorhaman while Steve Cole and Eleisha Kneebone won 2 for Everton.
The surprise result of the round came when Wahgunyah Blue drew with second placed Myrrhee and from all reports were unlucky not to take the points.
Wahgunyah jumped Myrrhee early winning the first 2 sets but as all good sides do they hit back winning the next 3.
Then the sting in the Wahgunyah tail came when Tony Jones and Tye Callow won 8-1 which gave Wahgunyah a healthy game advantage heading into the mixed sets.
Myrrhee regrouped once again and won 2 of the 3 mixed sets but it wasn’t enough as Wahgunyah had a huge 10 game advantage which meant the points would be shared.
Tony Jones with 3 sets was the standout for Wahgunyah Blue and with good support from Priscilla Presley, Fiona Rose and the diminutive Caile Dureya Wahgunyah Blue were always a chance to win. Cathy Van Berlo with 3 sets was Myrrhee’s best and ably supported by Di Griffin and Dylan Van Berlo.
Against the odds Wang Hardcourt have played themselves into a position where they can play finals tennis while Everton Blue are teetering on the brink of a disastrous finals campaign but never write off a champion team as history proves they have won the last 3 Section 2 flags.
This week Hardcourt were all over them like a bad smell early and made sure they stayed in the incubation tent for the entire match with some precision and power tennis which Everton Blue had no answers for.
It was hard to go past Nicole “I’m a woman” Brimblecombe as Hardcourts best with an outstanding display of leadership and with the entire team supporting her Hardcourt were never going to let this opportunity slip.
Everton Blue had good players in Noel Kneebone and Russell Bennett but it was difficult to find 3 set contributors after that.
Section 3
Wahgunyah United (Kellie Storer, Brad Schmidt, Rob Hill, Matt Davis) were no match for Wahgunyah Red (Jessie Jonstone, Wayne Johnstone, Kane Palmer, Peter Treberly) on Saturday as the Red juggernaut keeps rolling along.
Wahgunyah Red is entrenched at the top of the ladder and once again played like ladder leaders should, giving their opposition no chance from the outset and putting them on the backfoot and playing catch up tennis.
Wahgunyah Blue (Jake Saville, Corey Hill, Matt Vogel, Shannon Beacon) showed no mercy to Chiltern (Molly Williams, Amelia Beatie, Hamish Smyth, Grace Birthisel) and brushed them aside to cement their position on the ladder.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel for Chiltern, they need patience as the signs are there for a rapid improvement next year from what Backhand Winner has seen.
Results
Section 1
Corowa Red 7-67 def Corowa Blue 2-49, Wang Hardcourt 8-70 def Chiltern 1-34.
Section 2
Boorhaman 6-65 def Everton White 3-43, Wang Hardcourt 8-68 def Everton Blue 1-38, Myrrhee 5-50 drew Wahgunyah Blue 4-60, Corowa 9-72 def Rutherglen 0-0.
Section 3
Wahgunyah Red 5-42 def Wahgunyah United 1-17, Wahgunyah Blue 6-48 def Chiltern 0-8.
Under 15
Chiltern 6-41 def Beechworth 1-26, Wahgunyah 5-33 def Corowa 2-28.
Ladders
Section 1
Corowa Blue 71.5, Wang Hardcourt 62, Corowa Red 58, Wang Lawn 53.5.
Section 2
Wahgunyah Red 105, Myrrhee 82, Everton Blue 68, Wang Hardcourt 62, Boorhaman 59, Corowa 46, Wahgunyah Blue 46, Rutherglen 44, Everton White 36.
Section 3
Wahgunyah Red 66, Wahgunyah Blue 56, Wooragee 31, Wahgunyah United 20, Chiltern 0.
Under 15
Wahgunyah 55.5, Corowa 41, Beechworth 24.5, Chiltern 23.