A SURGE though the third term in Myrtleford's A grade netball match against Wodonga Raiders delivered the Saints a solid win, knocking down Raiders 43–35.
Slippery conditions early on in the match lead to unforced errors from both sides, with the Saints taking an early lead which was pared back to 15–15 by half time.
Myrtleford coach Tina Way said the performance from her girls in the third quarter to take a commanding seven goal lead really separated the two outfits.
"I'm very happy we had a dominant third quarter and we came away with a good win," she said.
"We changed a few minor things in regard to how we were playing the game and the girls really did a good job to take the lead into that quarter.
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"We changed our centre pass structure, and how we were feeding into Rebecca (Piazza), we tweaked a little bit.
"We didn't do anything fancy, didn't do anything fantastic, we just put a bit of polish on what we were doing, the girls turned the ball over and were able to score, and that gave us a really great quarter that was able to set us up for the win."
Citing Raiders' ability to move the ball through the mid court at a pace and their height in defence, Way said her team was able to nullify any potential counterattacks.
"Sally Botter played goal attack against their tallest player and she got best on ground for us on the weekend," she said.
"She played herself up the court then we played wide on the centre pass which really took the goal defence's strength out of the game.
"Sophie Cappellari played on their quick little wing attack and she pushed her wide for the whole game and really slowed down their quick, dynamic play onto the circle edge.
"Saige Broz had a good game in wing attack, had three different opponents throughout the game, obviously she was beating the opposition.
"They're a great group of athletes that really take on any feedback that I give and we give to each other, the girls are really good at discussing anything they want to adjust between themselves as well, going out and applying the things we discuss and coming away with success."
The Saints face their greatest challenge on the court at McNamara Reserve this weekend, coming up against Lavington.
After last season's inability to find an answer to the Panthers' game style, and following Myrtleford's 56–29 bombing against Lavington back in round one, Way said the stage was set for a showdown.
"They had the jump on us in 2021 and a very big loss (to them) early this season, but we'll just be continuing doing what we're doing, developing ourselves and pushing ahead," she said.
"They beat us by a lot, and we would really hope to decrease that margin.
"We want to play well; I do have a different side playing this weekend compared to what played them last time.
"We just really want to be out and playing our game – a win would be unreal but I definitely do not want to have a loss deficit like last time."
The B and C grade Saints also came away with handy wins in their tussle with Raiders, while the 17 and under side were downed 27–46.
