In a weekend of exciting netball, all eyes were on the 2018 Ballarat Football Netball League grand final rematch at Mars Stadium between unbeaten East Point and North Ballarat City.
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It was an back and forth contest until the very end where the Roos where able to pull away as 48-44 winners.
East Point coach Jo Bayles said it always feels good to get one over on a grand final opponent.
"You always want to beat the team that beat you in the grand final," she said.
"It provides a sense of relief and gratitude but we also know that this wasn't their full strength team."
North were able to hold their own for much of the game despite missing key players Poppy Douglass, Gina McCartin and Stacey McCartin.
Bayles heaped praise on her defenders, saying their pressure and resiliency was what ultimately got East point over the line.
"I really feel it was that relentless defence from the girls in the last quarter, they really dug in deep.
"We had a lot of the ball and our conversion rate isn't what we'd want it to be but our resiliency is what got us over the line."
Bayles singled out goalkeeper Beth Smith for her individual effort against North goal-shooter Jordan Bibby.
"We know (Smith) is one of the best players at her position in the entire league. She just reads the play quite well and is deceptively athletic. I was very grateful for her presence towards the end of the game," Bayles laughed.
Looking forward, Bayles know's her side will have to show some greater shooting consistency if they hope to content for a premiership.
"Our shooting percentage this week was far better than it has been lately and that's been a real concern... our shooters really stepped up today when they had to and that builds confidence going into next week.
"It's critical for us to be accurate but we need to get the ball to our shooters through the mid-court and that'll be something we focus on across the week."
The Sunbury Lions remain unbeaten after registering a comfortable 19-goal victory against the Lake Wendouree Lakers on the road.
Lions coach Adam Boldiston said he wasn't pleased with his side's play across the first two quarters.
"We started off pretty well and created a lot of turnovers," he said.
"Once we got out to a lead we started just going through the motions and were quite inconsistent... our transition was terrible."
"The girls copped a bit of a spray from me at half-time - whatever I said must have done the trick because we had our best quarter of netball in over a year."
After Boldiston's half time pep-talk, the Lions were dominant, outscoring the Lakers 18-5 in the third term before holding on for a 55-36 victory.
Boldiston's attention now turns to also undefeated East Point who they are set to face off against on the road in round eight.
Elsewhere Bacchus Marsh secured their third win of the season at home against a struggling Darley team.
The Marsh pulled away in the second quarter, opening up a five-goal half-time lead before extending their lead to 12 goals at the end of the third quarter. They would go on to win 50-37.
Melton continued their surprise run after beating Redan 45-32 for their third win of the season. The Bloods took control early and led for the remainder of the game.
Melton South kept Sebastopol winless on the road, winning 38-34.
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