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The Halfway Point

The Halfway Point

Elizabeth Roche31 Dec 2022 - 12:59
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A round up of the season so far as we reach the halfway point.

The end of the year is usually the halfway point for our leagues, and all teams have been putting in some super performances.

In the London & SE Regional League the 1st team had a great start, winning their first two matches then taking a draw against a strong Downs side. Unfortunately, with players absent, they couldn’t keep up the momentum and a mixed bag of 3 losses with one more win, sees them sitting in 5th place in the table.

In the Kent County Senior League, the 2nd team, with lots of players stepping up to this level for the first time, have been having a tough time with only one win, which is just keeping them off the bottom of the table in 5th place, although there are clearly improvements from the start of the season.

The NWKL has been highly competitive with the 1st team making their best start to the season for a long time, sitting top of the table on goal average having only lost one match. It’s really pleasing to see the development from last year with this squad! The 2nd team have also made a solid start with four wins and two losses seeing them fourth in the table currently, but as the combinations become more familiar, we expect big things in the second half of the season. The less experienced 3rd team are struggling for goals, with only one win under their belt, but a strong defence is giving them lots of opportunities. They have certainly stepped up from the start of the season and will improve on their current 7th place standing.

At the MMNL the 4th team have won 8 of their 11 matches and are being pushed a lot harder this year, with both new players to the club and promoted players in the team. They sit just off the top of the table and with combinations starting to gel, they will be working hard to improve their position. Meanwhile the 5th team, again with new members and juniors moving to senior netball for the first time, have been finding the going tough, with 4 wins from 10. Again, the rapid improvement being shown, due to their hard work in training will pay dividends in the second half of the season. The Vets sit top of the table unbeaten, with thanks to the younger players helping when the old people are injured!

At the junior levels our teams have also been going strong, with the U16s looking great at the top of the London & SE Regional League, only losing one match to date, and beating the other two strongest teams in the competition.

There have been some fantastic performances in the Kent County Junior Leagues too. The U18s have not yet won a match (although were awarded one by default) but this is providing great experience of indoor netball and the next step up for those not playing senior county or regional competitions. The U16As are currently in second place having had one very bad day at the office where they lost and drew a match, but with all to play for in the return fixtures. The U16Bs who are very inexperienced at County level, with none having played there before, are being boosted by some of our U14A shooters on rotation for extra experience in the Development League. They have won two, lost two and are showing good improvement.

The U14As are undefeated so far, playing tremendous netball, and are thoroughly deserving of their top of the table position. The U14Bs are also unbeaten at the top of their Development League group and heading for a semi-final place.

The Sevenoaks Junior League ran a short competition to Christmas, and a new league will start in January. The Minis finished in a respectable 4th place with three absolutely super wins, and huge development in their play. Juniors 4 also had a mixed set of results with three wins and three losses to also finish in 4th spot.

Juniors 3 ended up in 3rd position, only losing two games and really starting to gel together as a squad. They are all U13 so the future is bright for next year’s U14 competitions! Juniors 2 went one better to finish as runners-up, only having lost one match to the league winners – a fantastic achievement. Juniors 1 should have won the top division, having beaten the eventual winners, however an annoying loss (when 4 players were at regional league) meant they also had to settle for second place.

We have also entered two teams into the SistersnSport Cup competition. The U17s lost their first match so have moved into the Plate competition where they won their next match to progress to the next round. The U13’s are yet to get going due to scheduling issues but are looking forward to their first round.

The year was rounded off with a fun filled festive session with lots of games and secret Santa for the juniors, and a Fast-5 competition for the seniors.

All in all, a fabulous and extremely action packed first half of the season – we are really looking forward to the remainder of the netball year!

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