NETBALL
BOTH sides had their sights set on scoring their maiden win of 2016 on Saturday, but after playing out a thrilling Orange Netball Association Toyota Cup draw Robin Hood Craig Harvey Mechanical and OHS High A were forced to share the competitions points.
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Incredibly it wasn’t the only draw in round five either, KWS 1sts and Life Studio (47-47) were deadlocked at full-time as well.
In the former game Robin Hood and High A were evenly matched virtually from the word go before the former side gained some ascendency in the third quarter.
However, a plucky fightback gave the OHS side a chance to equalise in the dying stages of the fourth quarter, which they took to force the draw.
“It is a bit like that, definitely,” Robin Hood manager Craig Harvey said when asked if his side was taking the ‘a draw is better than a loss’ approach to the result.
“We’re not far away. We’re playing well and there are a lot of promising signs. We just can’t quite capitalise completely, and we’re still working on eliminating those little errors we’re making.”
Harvey wouldn’t go as far as saying a win was just around the corner for his side, but highlighted their results so far as reasons for hope.
“Hopefully [a win] is coming soon, but we know it’s always a tough task in this competition. Arguably it’s the best competition [in regional NSW],” he said.
“You look at it, against Vipers [in round one] we got beaten by 20 but only trailed by one at quarter-time, against KWS [in round two] we were in that all the way, we conceded the third least amount of goals of any side against Hawks so far.
“So there is plenty of promise there for us. We’re under no illusions, but we’re getting there.”
Robin Hood held off a determined Royal Hawks outfit to claim a 44-42 victory in their top-of-the-table clash.
The win maintained the eight-time consecutive champions’ unbeaten run and also gives them the outright lead - on competition points - for the first time in 2016, while Hawks remain in the top two despite the loss.
The two blues are equal with the Vipers on 13 competition points but take second spot thanks to a superior percentage.
Vipers scored a third straight win on Saturday over Life Studio Mid West Eyes, winning 54-41.