Guernsey Press

Juniors' skills bodes well

PANTHERS and Thundercats got off to a roaring starting in the Condor Super League.

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PANTHERS and Thundercats got off to a roaring starting in the Condor Super League. Both sides secured an impressive victory on the opening night of the new competition at Beau Sejour.

Panthers' opponents, Zebras, was always going to find the going tough without two of their influential centre court players in Jo Brehaut and Lisa Martin.

However, they did take an early lead thanks to Anna Trump's fine shooting and she was ably backed up by C Livy Ellis and the hard-working defence of Anais De Carteret and Claire Green.

Panthers made some tactical changes during the second quarter, with captain Claire Queripel moving to centre and Amy Wright being brought into goal defence.

Having gone into the period trailing by one, they soon took the lead and would not relinquish it in a 44-22 win as both sets of coaches tried out different combinations.

GK Kristina Le Page had an outstanding game for Panthers while Laurel Garfield made a return to netball after several years out. She will be an asset for Zebras.

In the following game, Thundercats started brightly against Sharks with Nena Bourgaize dictating the centre court and always being available for her less experienced teammates.

Shooters Hannah Dunnell and Tessa Hinshaw were awesome with their speed while Elka De Carteret and Cassie Le Page gave the Sharks' shooters no room to move.

Some tactical changes by coach Tanya Gibson saw Sharks gain a little more confidence in the second quarter while Thundercats put Verienne Belcher on for a half and she soon started to find her positioning to show that with a little time her side will have three very effective shooters.

It was also good to see Laura Webber back on the domestic scene.

Thundercats came out 27-19 winners but Sharks can take much from the final quarter in which they outscored their opponents 10-5.

On another positive note, the PWC Academy must be pleased with the performance of their players fast-tracked into Super League.

Tiffany Gervaise-Brazier, Olivia Ellis and Leah Green played with maturity and skill. That bodes well for the future of Guernsey netball.

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