Netball
14 August, 2025
Minor premiers host Ararat in A Grade netball
This Saturday's penultimate round of Wimmera Football Netball League A Grade netball will see four of the five finalists play each other.
Fifth-placed Ararat travel to Coughlin Park to take on the ladder leaders and minor premiers, Horsham Saints.
In the other key match, the Demons (second) will play the fourth-placed Thunder.
Meanwhile, Dimboola will host the Warrack Eagles, and Minyip Murtoa will make the trip to Davis Park to play Nhill.
When Ararat and the Saints last met in Round Eight, the Horsham side recorded a 45-goal win.
The Saints were led by league-leading goal shooter Jorja Clode, who banked 60 goals alone in that game, while Abby Hallam contributed 27 goals.
Clode was named best on court for her side, along with centre Ashlee Grace.
Ararat looked to a combination of different goalies in their circle, with Annie Shea getting limited time in Goal Shooter, but scoring four goals, Maggie Astbury playing Goal Attack, banked 22 and Laney McLoughlan contributing 16 in her roles between Goal Keeper and Goal Shooter.
Astbury and McLoughlan were deemed the better players for the losing side.
The game between the Demons and the Thunder, as part of the same round, was closer, with the Horsham side scoring a 16-goal win.
Horsham got off to a better start, with Southern Mallee attempting to play catch-up the entire game.
In a best on court performance for the winners, Imogen Worthy contributed 37 goals, while captain Georgia Batson shot 23.
For the Thunder, Emma Mill was among the better players, scoring 25 goals, while Goal Keeper Sydney Thorogood was also acknowledged for her efforts, and Goal Attack Steph Thomson converted 19 goals.
Just a couple of rounds out from finals, Horsham Saint's Clode will be the leading goal scorer for the season, currently on 626 goals from 731 shots.
The Demon's Worthy is second, with 514 goals from 628 shots, while Thomson, from the Thunder, is third with 453 from 621.