14-year-old Emma Uebergang had an A Grade debut to remember for Natimuk in their victory over Harrow Balmoral in round four of the Horsham District Football Netball League.
The up-and-coming talent scored 23 goals in their 36-28 win at Natimuk Showgrounds.
The game was tight early with only one point separating the teams in the first quarter with Natimuk extending it to two at halftime. The Rams got on top in the second half to claim their first victory of the season.
Natimuk coach Danielle Hanson said Uebergang was a star.
“She played a good game in goals with myself and she killed it,” Hanson said.
“She stood up and didn’t show any nerves and showed her netball smarts as she knew where she needed to be which made my life easier not to work too hard in the goal attack position.
“The girls after the same said they just had the confidence to pass it to her. There was no hesitation and everyone was thrilled.”
“Emily Hateley also played a good game through the centre”
It was a warm day and Hanson said the weather was a test.
“It was one of the warmest games I have played at this time of the year and it was always going to be a test,” Hanson said.
“Every single one of us gave 100% and fought right to the end. We kept our lead and were smart with the ball and didn’t rush our plays and we managed to get the win and it’s a massive confidence boost for the team.”
“Everyone played their part and stood up. It was a massive team effort.”
Hanson had encouraging words to Simone Skratek who made way for Emma.
“Simone is a newcomer and quite young and she was down on some confidence so we put her back into B Grade and she responded well and was one of the best in that game,” Hanson said.
“She will get her confidence back and she is another player with a good future. It was good to see her play well and hopefully that helps her moving forward.”
For the Southern Roos, Tori Dunstan shot 12 goals with Febey McClure solid through the centre and Megan Little down back.
Southern Roos coach Emily Langley said they did well.
“Febey is playing brilliant and is such a workhorse of the team and is controlling the ball down the court and adds some excellent leadership,” Langley said.
“Megan is holding down that defensive end well and is consistent as always and doing a mammoth amount of work.”
Langley said there is a lot they can take away from the match.
“We just missed our goals. We had the opportunities there and couldn’t capitalise which was disappointing,” Langley said.
“We need to work on transitioning from defence to attack and have put our goalies in the best position to shoot goals.
“The positive we took out of the match was it was our mistakes that made us lose it. Natimuk played well and deserved to win, but we made a lot of errors and we can work on fixing that up.”
Article from Wimmera Mallee Sport 7 May 2024
