Narrabri Netball Association sides place third at Tamworth carnival

Two Narrabri teams lined up at the 2023 Tamworth Netball Association all age carnival on Sunday and were in fine form on the day as they earned third-placed finishes.

The under-11s development team competed in one of the two under-11/12s divisions, while a side that included players from several of the A-grade teams in the NNA comp took part in one of the two senior women’s divisions as the Tourist Tornadoes.

NNA’s under-11 development team players have grown as a team and also as individuals on the court this year, and they proved that on Sunday when they played some impressive netball and earned five wins in their seven games to finish third on the 10-team ladder.

They started the day with a 16-1 win against WVP Corals in round one and an 18-2 victory against the Gomeroi Allstars in round two, but went down 13-11 in a close contest to Inverell in the third round.

They bounced back with a dominant 18-3 win against Moree 11s and then backed that up with a 17-7 win against the Moree under-12s.

They came up against the eventual winners Gunnedah under-12s in the sixth round and went down 20-5, but again bounced back and scored their fifth win of the day in round seven against the St Nichs Mini Swifts when they finished the carnival with a 22-0 victory.

Gunnedah finished the day as the undefeated champs with seven wins from as many matches, and Inverell was ranked seventh with six wins and one loss.

Narrabri, the Moree under-12s and Swans Koalas all finished the day on five wins and two losses, and Narrabri claimed third spot as they boasted a superior for and against difference.

NNA presdient Tracey Tomlinson was thrilled with the players’ efforts.

“It was a great day out,” she said.

“New combinations of players have been formed ahead of rep trials later this year.

“Fourteen weeks of development training on Tuesdays this year are paying off.”

Lorna Gleeson is the NNA’s under- 11s development coach and was the team’s umpire for the day, and Penny Towns took over coaching duties on the day while Bec Crutcher was the manager.

Tourist Tornadoes – back, Layne Parker, Bridie Russell, Callie Lawler, Tenika Bakhuis, front, Megan Crutcher, Bree Smith, Steph Leahy and Demi Winter. Photos: Narrabri Netball Association

The Tourist Tornadoes senior team won its first two games of the day as it defeated United 21-11 and Tamworth Treasures 25-16.

They went up against the eventual champions Mixed Lollies in round three and went down 20-12, and then they contested a 12-all draw against Castle Hill Sports in round four.

The Narrabri side then scored a convincing 20-5 victory against the Railway Rockettes in round five, and came up against United again in the sixth round and was edged out 16-15.

The Tornadoes were meant to play against the Treasures again in round seven but they won that game by a forfeit.

Mixed Lollies finished the day on top of the ladder with seven wins from as many games.

Castle Hill Sportsand the Tornadoes both finished equal following their five wins, two losses and a draw each, but Castle Hill Sports claimed second place as it finished the event with a greater for and against difference.