ANA 2023: Bullets power to third win of A1 season, Royals Saints make it three straight & Magpies win at home

A red-hot first half propelled Bullets to their third win of the Albany Netball Association A1 season as they edged out a persistent Narrikup outfit 41-40 in round four on Saturday. Goal shooter Emily Gadean was terrific in the first half, giving her side a strong platform to set up a thrilling one-goal win and she had plenty of support from attacking partners Charlotte Boreham and Jo-Anne Scott. Gadean made nine of her 10 attempts in the second quarter to help Bullets skip out to a 23-20 lead at half-time and despite a final-term fightback from Narrikup, they finished on top. After a slow start where only six first-quarter goals were scored, Narrikup’s Te Paea Keremete moved to goal shooter for the remaining three quarters and made a big impact. The combination of Keremete and Daisy Stewart-Morgan proved strong in the second quarter, outscoring the Bullets 14-11 to wrestle back control. Each side scored 10 goals in an even third term and despite Narrikup nailing 10 goals to Bullets’ eight in the fourth quarter, they fell short in their first loss. Madeleine Hammond was strong as wing attack, setting up her shooters well across the four quarters in tandem with centre Lauren Lehmann. Kristie Slater toiled hard in a losing affair, running hard at centre court, fighting for loose balls and setting up her side in attack. The win puts Bullets into third place and they are equal on points with second-placed Royals Saints 1 and top side Magpies 1. Royals Saints cruised past Railways 1 in their round four clash with a strong first and last quarter the catalyst in the 48-41 victory. The reigning premiers had skipped out to a 24-21 lead in the first half and then piled on another 24 goals in the second half, guiding them to a third win of the season. Elsewhere, Magpies put in a percentage boosting performance over Griffins 1, storming to a 45-26 victory at the final whistle to consolidate top spot on the ladder. The match was a home game for the Magpies, played at the Denmark Recreation Centre.