SANDHURST and Gisborne have delivered BFNL 17-and-under followers a glimpse of what to expect come finals time by producing a thriller at the Queen Elizabeth Oval on Saturday.
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The Dragons survived a spirited final quarter fightback from the Bulldogs to score a crucial win two weekends out from finals.
A high-calibre contest was close throughout, with scores tied at 11 at the opening break, before Sandhurst led by one goal at half-time and two goals at three-quarter time.
The Dragons dominated the early minutes of the final term to establish a handy lead, but a goal to shooter Liv Floreani with about four minutes to play capped a run of six-straight to tie the scores at 33.
But two within a minute from the hand of goal attack Tess Keating redelivered Sandhurst the ascendancy.
A key intercept from Sandhurst goal keeper Piper Dunlop and follow up goal from goal shooter Holly Lockhart stretched the Dragon lead to three.
Amity Drayton (Gisborne) and Lockhart (Sandhurst) would add another goal each in the final minute, before the siren sounded to seal a 37-34 victory for the Dragons.
The win was Sandhurst's second in a row against a top three opponent, while for Gisborne it was its first loss of the season.
Dragons coach Rose Gallagher said wins over Gisborne and Golden Square had given her side plenty of confidence as the 17-and-under team prepares for its tilt at a third-straight premiership.
"I was most proud of the girls' team effort .... we played so well as a team, we executed plenty of turnovers and people were just there to back each other up, which I encourage all the time," she said.
"I had my seven team players, plus my team on the bench - they all contributed well.
"Tess Keating is the steadier of the ship and can swing either end as can a lot of our girls. We're pretty versatile in that regard."
Looking at the bigger picture, Gallagher believed the game between last year's two grand finalists was a wonderful endorsement for the competition as a whole.
"Aren't they skilled? Both teams have a great bunch of girls. I think the top four teams in the 17s would be competitive against those higher grades, I'm sure of it," she said.
"I'm sure we'll get to see Gisborne again at some stage. They are very well coached with Maddy (Stewart) taking the lead there and she has them really well versed.
"It will be a strong finals."
A newcomer to the 17-and-unders at Sandhurst this season, goal attack/goal shooter Holly Lockhart was the Dragons' best player with her strong work-rate, narrowly ahead of star midcourter Meg McCarthy.
For the Bulldogs, midcourter Kiralee Collings was busy, while goal attack/shooter Drayton was instrumental in the final quarter resurgence.
Despite the loss, Gisborne retained top spot, but will need to defeat Golden Square this Saturday to lock in the number one ranking ahead of finals, with Sandhurst guaranteed four points for the bye against Kyneton.
Bulldogs coach Maddy Stewart believed the result was the wake-up call her side needed ahead of finals and could draw comparisons with the club's A-grade loss to the BFNL's powerhouse club.
"We recognised there's a lot for us to work on," she said.
"It was disappointing that we won so much ball and just couldn't finish.
"Things were pretty similar in both games (17-and-under and A-grade), with a bit of lack of discipline, and panicking with the ball when fatigue set in.
"The positive is we are super-young, we only have two top-age girls out of the 12, so that will come with experience and the experience we got (on Saturday) will help us in another big game against Golden Square (this) week."
In Saturday's other games, Golden Square defeated Castlemaine 68-28; South Bendigo continued its finals build up with a hard-fought 56-44 win over Strathfieldsaye; and Kangaroo Flat got its fifth win of the year with a 37-24 victory over Maryborough.
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