Preliminary final berth for Marvels as they prevail comfortable winners over Bullets in A2 elimination final

Marvels progressed through to the Albany Netball Association A2 preliminary final after finishing comfortable 31-goal victors in their sudden-death elimination final with Bullets 2 last Saturday. The ANA’s first week of finals were held last weekend and Marvels finished third ahead of Bullets with only one team advancing to the next round. Marvels started with the first centre pass and scored quickly but Bullets answered with a quick goal. The game moved fast as both sides went goal for goal. As the first term went on Marvels slowed the game down applying strong full-court defensive pressure. Bullets wing attack Linda Seib and goal attack Meagan Boreham worked well in the attacking third but Marvels led 11-7 at the first break. In the second quarter Marvels came out very strong. Bullets took a while to get on the board as the pressure from Marvels hands across the court made it difficult to move the ball. Marvels’ shooting combination Brooke Pearson and Sheila Percy were a formidable force, with Percy shooting nine goals from as many attempts. Marvel goal defender Kellie Bond read the play well and intercepted the ball, keeping Bullets to just four goals for the quarter. Marvels produced another huge effort in the third stanza as Marvels wing attack Jenelle Marwick continued to feed the ball well into the dynamite shooting combo. Bullets wing defence Rachel O’Dell and goalkeeper Kimberley Crosby continued to work tirelessly at the defensive end. In the final quarter, Bullets stepped up and increased their intensity but Pearson and Percy continued to shoot well, combining for a further 14 goals. Marvels won, 60-29, to progress to the preliminary final where they will face Bethel 1 for a spot in the grand final. Railways 2 defeated Bethel 40-31 to advance straight to the decider.