Round 11 of the 2018 Korfball South Australia State League competition has wrapped up, as we kick off the home stretch of the regular season. As always, all the scores, schedules, ladders and goal scorers from all the games played so far can still be found on the State League page. No embargo will be placed on the scoring charts after all, so we can follow those tight races right to the end.

A Grade

Boomers and North kicked off this round of A Grade matches, marking the third time this season these teams have met in the State League competition. This match followed much the same pattern as their previous meetings, with physical rebounding contests, efforts to make the feed position difficult to get, and good-old fashioned shootouts. Unfortunately for Boomers, North started with the hot hand, and despite the rest of the match being fairly even, possibly even weighted towards Boomers, the damage had been done. North’s volume shooters again proved the difference, as they have in every game this season so far, as North won 24-21. Josh Berney topped the scoring for the match, with 7 goals for the beaten Boomers, while Grace Cullen chipped in 6 for North.

Arista took on Glenelg this weekend in the second match of the round. Arista shot out of the gates, scoring the first 4 goals unanswered, but from there the match took on more of a slugfest tone. Arista were able to generate plenty of shots, without being able to convert at the rate they would have liked, allowing Glenelg to pick off most of the rebounds. At the other end of the court, Glenelg were not finding shooting opportunities quite as freely, but were able to do enough to stay within touching distance. The match followed this pattern for the duration though, with Arista not pulling away, but Glenelg not quite closing the gap either. Final score was 21-16 in favour of Arista. Theresa Coletti top scored for Arista and the match, with 5 goals, while Emily Hutchesson knocked in 4 for Glenelg.

These results leave the ladder fundamentally unchanged from last week. North remain on top, undefeated, and with a healthy goal difference should anyone close the gap. Arista are still in second, and have opened the gap slightly on third placed Glenelg following their match this round. Boomers remain in fourth, still just a single point behind Glenelg. Over to the scoring charts, and they also remain largely unchanged at the top, with the North pair of Megan Milde and Daniel Papalia leading the way, although Josh Berney, from Boomers, is rapidly closing the gap.

B Grade

Onto the B Grade, where Arista took on North in a match which could well have finals implications, given how tight the B Grade ladder is. As much as the general play of this match appeared to be fairly even between the two teams to the casual observer, the scoreboard doesn’t reflect this at all. Arista, much like their A Grade side, struggled to convert their chances, while North had no such problems. There was no sudden explosion of scoring, but North were nonetheless able to get a lead early on, and continued to gradually pull away as the match wore on, eventually running out 21-14 victors. Megan Milde was the top scorer for North and the match, with 7 goals, while Chris Hutchesson chipped in 4 goals for Arista.

The other B Grade match saw Flinders take on Boomers, in another chapter of their rivalry built up as the form teams in the B Grade over the last couple of years. Boomers had the ascendancy in the rebound, and generally executed a good, balanced offensive game plan well, while also playing some pretty good defense. However, sometimes when an opposition player is on, it doesn’t matter how well you play, and just about the whole Flinders team seemed to be on for this match. Excellent outside shooting from Flinders rendered the Boomers rebound advantage moot, and with 4 players each scoring more than 4 goals, and everyone hitting the scoreboard, it seemed like Flinders had options everywhere. Flinders ended up winning in a canter, despite Boomers’ solid all-round match (with all Boomers players also scoring), with the final score 31-18 to Flinders. This marks the first match all season, from all grades, where every player from both teams has scored at least one goal. Bree and Jaz Zulfic were the standouts for the match, and Flinders, with 8 each, while Kim Jilbert and Peter Corcoran did their part for Boomers, with 4 apiece.

Boomers remain on top of the ladder despite the defeat. Flinders remain in second spot, on 19 points, thanks to their healthy goal difference, while North, also on 19, move clear of a tie with Arista into third. All three of these teams still have a realistic chance to finish on top of the table, but Flinders and North will need to rely on Boomers dropping games unexpectedly. Arista slide to fourth, thanks to their loss, while Glenelg, having the bye, were unable to move from fifth. Thanks to his high-scoring output this week, and Jack Curran missing a game, Jaz Zulfic moves into top spot on the scoring charts. Jack remains in second spot, while Aaron Sykes and Rhys Kubank are tied for the last podium position, in what is an ever tightening race.

C Grade

The C Grade opened up with the third and probably final Glenelg derby, and gave the Cubs an opportunity to show the Tigers just how much they’ve improved in recent weeks. This was on full show early, as the Cubs refused to give away the early lead as they often have. They were able to keep pace with the Tigers early, and while the match was relatively even, the Cubs managed to open up a 2 goal lead. Perhaps spurred on by the prospect of dropping a match to their protégés (and in some cases, progeny), Tigers were able to rally, and the match ended in a nail-biting and unexpected draw, 7-7. Daniel Maas led the way for the Tigers, with 3 goals, while Thomas Brown and Nick Miller both chipped in 2 for the Cubs.

The late match saw Boomers taking on Flinders in the top of the table clash. The match was tight from the opening whistle, with Flinders unable to build the lead, and then defend it, as they have for much of this season. Before long, it was in fact Boomers building a margin, albeit slight. In the end, Boomers, sharing the scoring load with only one player scoring more than 2 goals, were good enough to hold off Flinders, handing them their first defeat of the season. Boomers took the win, 16-13. As mentioned, Stefan Scragg was the only Boomers player with more than 2 goals, with 4, while Jaz Zulfic matched his efforts for Flinders, also with 4 goals.

Despite the loss, Flinders remain top of the table, with a healthy margin over second placed Boomers, but a lesser goal difference if Boomers do make a late charge. Arista remain in clear third, despite having the bye, as the Glenelg derby draw prevented Tigers moving into a tie. As such, they remain in fourth, while the Cubs sit in fifth. Stefan Scragg’s recent vein of scoring form has kept him on top of the scoring charts, while early season leader Joanna Lloyd and James Holland are tied in second spot, but will need a strong close to the season to catch Stefan.

Next week we are once again at Titanium Security Arena. We look forward to seeing you there on July 22 as Round 12 of the Korfball South Australia State League kicks off. In the meantime, all the details can be found on the State League page.