Blues and Bombers cancel each other out

By Matthew Kappos

Jul 21, 2024

Picola United’s Sean Solar gets his boot under it for a towering bomb. Photos: Aidan Briggs Photo by Aidan Briggs

In a see-sawing encounter, neither Picola United nor Waaia could pull ahead of the other.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

The two sides were forced to share the spoils after Micheal Morson equalised late to ensure his side would get a share of the points.

Benjamin Turpin claims the ball in traffic. Photo by Aidan Briggs

It was a tense first quarter, with neither side’s attacking contingent able to make many inroads, kicking one goal each for the term.

The second saw Waaia jump ahead by 13 points after a three-goals-to-one period for the Bombers.

The half-time team talk worked for Picola, with the Blues turning around the scoreline to hold a one-goal advantage heading into the final term.

Blake Azzopardi takes to the air and makes a nice grab. Photo by Aidan Briggs

The two sides strapped on their shooting boots and the final quarter saw them combine for seven goals and no behinds.

Waaia got the better of the split resulting in a 9.4 (58) draw.

Taylor Beard kicked three for the Blues, while Morson added two and, Kian Wise, Cody Haub, Daniel Maher and Lachlan Collins each added one.

Micheal Morson sprints ahead of the pack on his way to equalising for Picola. Photo by Aidan Briggs

While it could have easily snatched this game, Picola will take heart in the improvement from its previous meeting with Waaia, where the Bombers ran out 50-point winners.

The Blues (8-6), currently in sixth, will close out their season against Deni Rovers (6-7) and Tungamah (8-5-1), two sides desperate to make finals or improve their current standings ahead of the post-season.

Mitchell Cleeland seeks to evade Picola pressure. Photo by Aidan Briggs

PDNL

Picola United’s A-grade netball side made a good accounting of itself but ultimately came up short against Waaia.

The Blues trailed by six goals at the first interval but fought back in the second quarter to reduce the deficit by one going into the half-time break.

Waaia then showed the form that has it in the finals places, kicking away in the second half to win 36-21.

Both Deni Rovers (12-2) and Tungamah (5-8-1) will pose a challenge to the Blues (4-10) as they look to close out their season on a positive note.