Nine wins, eight defeats and nine draw meant the team finished seventh on the ladder, three games outside of the top six.
A final-round victory could not prevent the team from putting its bibs in mothballs for the summer and a frustrating run of missing out on finals continued, despite several positives coming out of the season — the first being the flood-ravaged members of the club even managing to compete so ferociously for the entire season.
Rochester won the match 62-29, an awesome first quarter giving the team a 13-goal lead as the defensive unit of Bridgette Holt, Linda Rasmussen and Ava Cottam intercepted and rebounded their way to a quarter-time lead.
Ella Roulston was dynamic in the mid-court, with partner-in-crime Eloise Cuttriss and the lightning quick hands of Morgan Dingwall made life much easier for goaling partner Teal Hocking.
Dingwall’s ability to take shots when required was rewarded with 21 goals for the afternoon as Rochester bounced out to a 50-goal-to-19 lead at three-quarter-time
Hocking shot 13 goals in the first quarter and another 14 in the third term, finishing with 41 of the 62-goal tally for the game. Rochester only made one positional change for the entire match, Roulston and Cuttriss again sharing the centre role.
• Twelve goals from Charlotte Gould set up Rochester B-grade’s 12th win of the season and locked in the team to fourth position on the eve of the finals.
She finished the match with 27 goals after sitting out the second term, all 10 players on the team roster used at some stage during the 50-21 victory.
Sahra Brooks (nine goals) started in attack, but Leila Palmer and Jaime Dingwall both spent time in the role after a dominant first quarter set up the win.
Gould finished with 27 goals as the team went through the motions in securing the win.
Rachel Whipp’s inercepting work made the 100th game celebration of Charlee Roulston a winning one as she too had in influence at centre.
Tess Ringin and Whipp received the awards, Ringin spending three quarters in the mid-court as all 10 of the players sat out at least one quarter.
Poppy Palmer and Teaghan Valley spent the bulk of the match in the defensive goaling circle, allowing Rochester a 25-12 second half return.
• A milestone speech and warm weather set Rochester B-reserve on its way against Shepparton United on Saturday.
Ella McPhee and Zali Hocking combined well in goals, but it took the Tigerettes some time to shake off its rival. Leading by five at quarter-time and by six at half-time the second half return of 27-10 allowed for the eventual 23-goal victory.
Rochester finished the season fifth on the B-reserve ladder, four points ahead of the sixth- and seventh-ranked teams in a tight finish to the season.
Only .56 per cent separated sixth-ranked Shepparton and seventh-placed Kyabram — the latter who will sit out the finals.
Krystal Conder continued to show her fitness and strength, while a suspected dislocated finger cost Kristie Heddington her place on the court.
Grace ingram came onto wing defence as a result, but Heddington did return for the final term. That led to a dominant final term from the Tigerettes.
Nine players were used in the game, with 25 goals from Hocking and a brilliant final term — when defenders Grace Wachter and Annalease Oliver allowed United just four goals — was a highlight of the afternoon.
• A sunny day for the final day of the under-17 season saw the Tigerettes seriously challenge finals-bound Shepparton United.
Keen to finish on a high the defence of Tara Atley and Grace Moyle kept United to 17 first-half goals and their team trailed by just one goal at half-time.
The teams were still tied at three-quarter-time as defenders dominated the match, but in the final term United scored three more goals than its home court opponent and won the match 35-31.
Maddy Pearse’s micourt work was a highlight of the match, while Payton Tiler and Kaitlyn Joyce had a highly accurate morning.
Tiller shot 14 of the team’s 16 first-half goals and finished with 26 for the match.
Marli Cottam came into goals for the final team, teaming with Tiller as Joyce moved to wing attack. It was not enough, however, to change the result.
The team’s defensive unit remained unchanged, but several players were used in the mid-court as 10 players took the court during the course of the contest.
• A come-from-behind win for the Tigerettes under-15 match has left Rochester a game and a half outside the finals with a 9-9 win/loss record for the season.
A very slow start saw the team face a five-goal quarter-time deficit, which was reduced to four at half-time with a winning second term.
Rochester dominated the second half to the tune of a 20-10 result and eventually won the match by six points — 33-27.
Immogen Kath’s strong defence and Marli Cottam’s (13 goals) height in attack created a series of rebounding opportunities, while Leah Toohill led the way in the mid-court with several strong drives.
Chance Powles (12 goals in the second half after starting in defence) and Maddie Howard (three final-term goals) combined in goals to offer plenty of opportunities for scoring, while Matilda Anderson and Sophie Joyce were the backbone of the defence.
All nine players had an impact on the final result.
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