A match of contrasts it seems. Garville, a team filled with talent in abundance, embellished with state and All Australian representation and Tango, a team with lots of newcomers to netball and very limited experience. Immediately from the first whistle Garville’s tight all court defence pressure had Tango on the back foot, having to frequently pass backwards and reset in attempting to get the ball through the centre third into the attacking third. By contrast, Garville’s transition from centre pass to scoring position in the goal circle saw the ball delivered with speed, players attacking space and reading each other’s moves with precision.
Ben Clarke at goal shooter and Aalen Davis at goal attack created multiple scoring opportunities by using circle space, precision offers and scoring accuracy to see Garville take a commanding lead early in the quarter. The silky moves of Saxon Hay at centre and Jordan Deutrom at wing attack complimented the creative goalies. As Tango settled, Sam Chamberlain became a focus for them in their goal circle.
Garville’s Hay and Deutrom most effectively used their dodge and change of speed to break up Tango’s defence, Hay in particular, super effective and a sheer delight to watch in full flight. Ben Ryan clearly built on his outstanding game in defence last week as he pressured Tango’s goalers efforts to find space and score, forcing frequent turn overs. Garville’s defensive pressure across all positions was stifling Tango however, Chamberlain remained a solid focus in goals and new chum Jack Townsend at goal attack began to use his height to affect.
Tango’s defenders were giving Ben Clarke too much space in the goal circle as he piled on the goals.
First quarter scores were Garville 21 to Tango 9.
A number of changes in the Garville lineup including the introduction of young gun goalie Kruz Wilson. These changes didn’t affect their strong defensive performance and use of the double defence of their opponents next passing option, forcing errors and held ball from Tango. The combination of Chamberlain and Townsend in Tango’s goal circle began to show signs of gelling and both found space and the high pass creating scoring opportunities.
Ben Ryan for Garville came off with an ankle injury, but this didn’t disrupt their scoring flow, Ben Clarke was his usual creative and dominant self in goals aided by Tango’s defenders often caught with their heads down or following the ball movement around the circle and leaving Clarke undefended.
Tango too suffered an injury as Cameron Bennett left the court and young Nathan Nigro came on.
Second Quarter scores were Garville 46 to Tango 17.
Again, the quarter began with numerous changes by Garville and their combination of one-on-one defence interspersed with zone defence in Tango’s attacking third continued to force errors and turnovers.
Tango began to move into attack better as their timing and reading of each other's leads began to work but their soft two-handed passing gave Garville too many opportunities to read and intercept. Jack Townsend continued to grow in confidence and impact at goal attack using his height with effect and read well by circle feeders.
Third quarter scores were Garville 63 to Tango 23.
The final quarter highlighted Garville’s superb transition and attacking play, effectively using give and go options, always backed up by second phase leads of support if needed. As the quarter progressed, Tango’s timing of leads improved, finding space as a result and creating scoring opportunities. Jack Townsend continued to have an increasing impact by finding space in the goal circle and using his height to better effect.
Wilson and Clarke in Garville’s goal circle continued to provide multiple scoring opportunities and at the final whistle the scores were Garville 85 to Tango 22.
I had the opportunity to have a chat with Tango Co-Head Coach Michael O’Brien. What immediately impressed me was his commitment to his fledgling team and his belief that if they can continue to build and work together the outcome will see the losing goal margins decrease. Michael has a wealth of coaching experience having coached South Australia’s Reserve Men's team. He was also assistant Premier League coach for Tango in 2023 and 2024, and he was Head Coach at the Northern Metro Academy. Michael also coaches in the Barossa League and is a Tango life member. He clearly has faith in his vastly inexperienced team and is working overtime to ensure that they learn from their defeats and build on the positives.
Michael has a vision and has made a commitment so the best of luck to him.
I was also fortunate to have a chat to young gun, and multi-talented Ben Ryan. Last week Ben had a ripper of a game in defence and literally caused havoc on court with his aerial finesse and ability to read and intercept. A quieter game tonight and a tweaked ankle too contributed. Ben is only 23 but already has a long involvement in netball. His journey began when he used to follow his mum out to the courts and he soon began playing in the girl's competition when he was 8 and 9. He then got involved in Indoor Netball and as a 13-year-old he made the Indoor Under 16 team.
Transition to the Southern Dragons soon followed as a 14-year-old mixing it with the big boys, he was selected in the State Under 17’s.
Ben earned All Australian selection in 2016 but in 2022, when Ben was selected in the Under 23’s to be hosted in Adelaide, he suffered an ACL injury seeing him put his playing career on hold for almost a year.
He was back on deck in the 23’s for the Nationals in Brisbane for 2024 and a successful tournament saw him gain selection the All Australian U23's team that recently competed in the Trans-Tasman Cup in Canberra.
Currently Ben is a member of our Open Men’s team. A strong, exciting and inspiring young player, Ben is adept at a number of positions. I have seen him excel at goal shooter, goal attack, goal defence and keeper, a testament to this lad's talent. Ben is hopeful on becoming a Kelpie in the not-too-distant future and I suspect it won’t be long before he can bark with pride. Well done Ben Ryan!
