Royals Saints hold spot inside top four after tough victory against Bullets in inaugural NAIDOC Round

A powerful second half performance from Royals Saints 1 guided them to their fifth victory in the Albany Netball Association A1 competition on Saturday afternoon. Royals Saints held their spot in the top four after downing Bullets 1 by 11 goals in their round 10 clash. The ANA held its inaugural NAIDOC Round at the weekend and both teams wore specially designed Indigenous bibs. Bullets started superbly netting the first three goals and led for much of the term against the team that sat well above them on the ladder. But Royals Saints slowly edged their way back into the contest and drew level inside the final few minutes. Royals Saints finished the first term off powerfully, netting a string of goals to hold a four-goal advantage at the first break. Bullets continued to challenge Royals Saints in the second quarter in search of their first victory for the season. Both sides netted 10 goals in the second term as the margin remained the same at the main change. The game opened up in the third stanza as 30 goals were scored, Royals Saints extending their lead to six heading into the final quarter despite a staunch Bullets defence. Royals Saints skipped clear in the final term, as they outscored their opponents by five to seal the 54-43 victory. Maddie Dallimore was superb in mid-court for the winners while Nardia Humphries was solid in attack and Chelsi Mier was a strong contributor in defence. Rachel Adams was solid in defence for Bullets along with Kylie Scott through mid-court while Charlotte Boreham and Jo-Anne Scott combined well in the goal circle. Narrikup 2 jumped back to the top of the ladder after recording a comfortable 18-goal victory over Railways 1, finishing 61-43 winners. Magpies 1 strengthened their top-two chances as they knocked off Narrikup 1 46-44, the two-goal victory knocking the latter from top spot. Meanwhile Kangas 1 remain in the hunt for a finals berth after prevailing 36-30 over Griffins 1.