“I was very happy the girls were able to keep up the intensity for 15 minutes each quarter,” Lee-Anne Cummins, Kapunda coach said. “Considering the cold, wintry and wet conditions it was an excellent effort.”

Kapunda’s best were Penny Chappell (centre), Stacey Burgess (goal defence) and Kim McGrath (wing defence).

Barossa co-coaches Taryn Wills and Bronwyn Venning said their girls had fought hard.

“Credit to Kapunda, they played an A-class game and were almost faultless,” they said. “It was good to have Kristal back in goals for a half. She and Katie Rattley worked really hard.

“Unfortunately we didn’t value the ball when we had possession and succumbed to Kapunda’s strong defensive pressure by throwing away far too many easy balls.

“Laura Slade worked hard in defence and managed to create some turnovers and put Kapunda’s goalies under pressure while Stacey Nelson worked tirelessly in the midcourt and provided great drive and voice.”

Tanunda 42

Angaston 41

Much-improved Tanunda survived a late Angaston challenge to score a thrilling one-goal away win.

“I was very proud of the way the girls dug deep to hold on,” Janelle Steinberner, Tanunda coach said. “Our 12-6 first quarter set up the win. The game remained even for the next two quarters and we led by seven at the final change.

“Credit to Angaston they really lifted in the final quarter and got to within one with a few minutes to play but we created several intercepts and held on.”

Wing attack Toni Martin and goal shooter Alicia Swincer were best.

Angaston captain Carly Clarke said it had been a thrilling game but a poor first half hadn’t helped.

“We lost our goalie Kim Seelander in the first minutes of the game with an ankle injury and just made too many errors in the first half,” Carly said.

“Our second half was very good and it was goal-for-goal in the final stages but Tanunda held on.”

Best for Angaston were defender Anna Cameron and goalie Lucy Summerton.

Willaston 70

South Gawler 39

Recruits Lisa Wilson and Mel Tump starred for Willaston in their 31-goal smashing of semi-finalist South Gawler.

Wilson, the coach, and mid-season signing Tump dominated at goal shooter and wing attack respectively.

Lisa said it had been an excellent win to back up after the Kapunda victory.

“South are a skilled, quick team and started strongly but we were able to break away due to our strong defensive pressure,” Lisa said. “The girls contested everything and showed real passion and desire, which is what we have been working on. We were able to make positional changes without affecting the strength of the team.”

Willaston’s best were Hayley Norris (centre) and Emma Hillard (wing defence and goal defence).

South coach Karina Cook said her side’s chances had not been helped by the Saturday morning withdrawal of quality midcourt Anna Dunn through illness.

“Anna’s absence was a blow but we were completely annihilated,” Karina said. “Mel and Lisa were sensational, it was absolutely crazy, fast netball and we were powerless to stop their flow.

“It seemed like we struggled to get the ball into our goal circle. It wasn’t only Mel’s feeding but her defensive pressure through the midcourt which created turnovers.”

South defender Cassie Egel fell heavily during the second quarter and came off at half-time and will have X-rays this week on her shoulder.

Erin Butcher, promoted from the 2s to cover Dunn’s absence did well in a tough baptism in senior one netball.

Gawler Central 64

Freeling 34

Minor premier Gawler Central rounded off their pre-finals’ season with a 30-goal win over Freeling.

Central, who have the bye this week, took their goals tally to 1001 meaning they have averaged about 62.5 goals a game.

Coach Graham Fischer said his side had some quality passages of play in often tough, wintry conditions against a determined opposition.

“It is not ideal having two weeks off now but the girls were keen to produce some good netball going into the finals and they did.”

Best players were Jo Burns (wing attack), Allison Grigg (goal attack) and Tracy Patton (goal defence).

Freeling coach Deb Meaney said her side had a slow start.

“Central got off to a good start and caught us on the back foot,” Deb said.

“Their attack line was slick with their movement and passing. We didn’t apply enough forward pressure to help out our defenders who worked tirelessly all game.

“At times we moved the ball quickly through the centre court and scored easily, but we weren’t able to do it consistently.”

Freeling’s best were Katie Clark (wing defence, centre) and Kelly Gerschwitz (wing attack).