The Orange City juggernaut just keeps rolling on.
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In claiming their eighth straight victory of the 2017 Orange Netball Association Toyota Cup season the Lions also continued their dominance over Life Studio on Saturday, adding another chapter to one of the city’s greatest sporting rivalries.
The two sides’ history is well documented.
They’ve faced off in 10 of the last 12 Toyota Cup grand finals and although Life Studio won a hat-trick of those in 2005, 2006 and 2007, Orange City has enjoyed the lions’ share of success since then.
In the last half decade alone, including Saturday’s 62-49 victory, Orange City has won 17 of 20 encounters.
The Lions produced a clinical showing on the weekend to win by 13 goals and coach Cindy Gilchrist couldn’t have been happier.
Life Studio were awesome ... but we’re really starting to hit our straps
- Orange City coach Cindy Gilchrist
“It was a really good win on the weekend, it really was,” she said.
“Life Studio were awesome, not taking anything from them, they’re a very young, strong squad but we’re really starting to hit our straps.
“My plan really was to try and wear them down in the first half and then be able to unleash Kristin Zinga and Millie Wilcox in the shooting circle in the second half, it worked.
“It was a bit confusing at one stage, (Life Studio player-coach) Mardi (Aplin) shot for the entire game and she’s played GK the last few years, so that did throw our game-plan off a little bit but we [did well to adapt].”
Gilchrist sung Wilcox’s praises in particular.
“She’s very versatile and she’s able to play a leading role or a secondary role if we need her to, she [did the former] at goal attack in the second half on Saturday,” Gilchrist said.
“She’s continuing to come along in leaps and bounds, she’s even better than she was last year and she doesn’t take a backwards step.
“The thing is, we have to remember we’re still talking about a 14-year-old as well.”
Although the Lions were somewhat disjointed in the early stages of the season the side has built quickly in recent weeks and doesn’t look like slowing down.
Much of that inconsistency – although it did nothing to stop the side winning – was thanks to their off-season recruitment, which forced Gilchrist to go searching for new combinations.
“With some good young girls coming into the club we really wanted to test out all our combinations and give everyone a chance,” she explained.
“Our goal has always been to be able to put anyone in our squad on the court and lose nothing, so we’ve been trying a few things, and having four shooters in a squad of 10 is a challenge as well.
Saturday was the second time the Lions have accounted for Life Studio this season, the other was a 46-38 win in round one, and keeps the reigning nine-time champions two points clear at the top of the table.
Life Studio, boasting a four-and-four record, remains in fourth place, one win ahead of the next best side.
Vipers bounced back from last week’s heart-breaking loss to Hawks Royal with a win over Orange City Newey’s Drive-Thru Cleaners, but the victory was an incredibly hard-fought one.
The young Lions pushed the third-placed Vipers to the brink of defeat, but in the end experience told as the latter side ultimately claimed a 40-30 victory in a relatively low-scoring game.
Despite being without centre-court stars Vic Briscoe and Katie Matthews, Orange City went goal-for-goal with the navy and teal bibs for virtually all of the clash’s first three quarters.
Vipers led by just two goals heading into the final term, but shifted up a gear and closed out the 10-goal victory superbly.
With the win, Vipers trail second-placed Hawks Royal by two points with Orange City another two further in front.
It was one of several encouraging performances the young Lions have produced, they’re equal fifth with Life Studio Mid West Eyes and three points out of the top four.
Hawks Royal maintained second spot on the Orange Netball Association Toyota Cup table heading into the school holiday break, easily accounting for Life Studio Mid West Eyes on Saturday afternoon.
Fresh off a potentially season-defining, one-goal win over title contenders Vipers, the two blues carried that form into last weekend’s round eight clash against the now fifth-placed Mid West Eyes side to secure a 57-38 victory.
It was Hawks’ seventh victory from eight starts this season, the two blues’ only loss coming at the hands of competition leaders Orange City.
The 19-goal win keeps last year’s runners-up less than one win behind the undefeated Lions, with six regular season games remaining.
The Toyota Cup season breaks for the school holidays, teams return to do battle on July 22.