The Bull Sharks’ round 3 campaign against the Ipswich Jets proved to be a challenging endeavour on Saturday.
Despite their best efforts, the Sapphire team endured a disappointing 30-point loss, 45-75, while the Ruby squad fought valiantly but fell short in a close 48-46 contest.
Ruby
In a hard-fought clash, the Ruby Bull Sharks produced some quality netball however some unfortunate lapses in judgement cost them the game.
The Bull Sharks found themselves on the backfoot early on, as their errors allowed the Jets to swiftly establish a lead.
The second quarter saw a rejuvenated Bull Sharks begin to connect and find their rhythm and they were able to level the scores at half time.
Throughout the third and fourth quarters a pattern emerged as Bull Sharks’ errors robbed them of momentum.
On multiple occasions they would make progress, only to commit another error for the Jets to exploit.
Netball Operations Manager and Ruby Coach Kim Boland admitted that despite a commendable display of determination, it was the persistent errors that ultimately resulted in the eight-goal defeat.
“When you look back at it, it’s only four turnovers, so if we had really capitalised on those gains that we made we would have been within one or two goals,” said Boland.
“We’ve got to pay tribute to the fact that the girls really dug deep even though many of our players were sick.
“They all tried their best for us, so now all we can do it just move forward and to the next round.”
Sapphire
In the Sapphire Series game, it was the Jets’ relentless physicality that forced the Bull Sharks into errors and pulled apart their game plan.
Right from the outset, the Jets displayed exceptional ball movement, and presented a highly physical game which ultimately took its toll on the Bull Sharks both mentally and physically.
The mistakes mounted and so did the injuries.
One player sprained her ankle whilst another suffered a grade-one concussion.
With injuries disrupting their rhythm, the Bull Sharks found it increasingly challenging to regain their footing.
Despite moments of brilliance, the Bull Sharks failed to collectively deliver their usual performance and an inability to stick to their game plan proved to be a critical factor in their defeat.
In the face of their losses, the Bull Sharks can take solace in the fact that they fought tirelessly throughout their games, despite injury and illness affecting many players.