The 2020 Korfball South Australia State League continued this weekend with Round 3. With the usual six games of action to cover, let’s dive right in!

Division 1

Glenelg v Arista

The early Div 1 game this week saw Arista, smarting from two opening losses, take on a developing Glenelg side, coming off the bye and missing some experience from Round 1. Unfortunately for Glenelg, Arista his their straps early, and didn’t let up as the game went on. An improved shooting performance from Arista didn’t help the final scoreline, as they ran out 23-5 winners. Matilda Hilton led the way for Arista with 6 goals, while Glenelg had 5 players pick up a solitary goal each: Sot Vardas, Nick Miller, Amelia Vardas, Tom Brown and Issy Vardas.

North v Boomers

The second match of the round saw North take on Boomers, with both teams a mathematical chance of taking over top spot on the ladder in the early stages of this season. The match started fairly tight, before some patented North shooting saw them open up a slight margin. Boomers kept pushing, and despite keeping the game relatively close, were not able to close the gap, as North gradually increased their advantage. North picked up the win, 16-11. 3 goals was the match-high tally, scored for North by Darian Huddleston, Jayden Huddleston, Brandon Nagy and Megan Papalia, and for Boomers by Jack Curran, Bethan Channing and Nadine Mahomet.

Despite having the bye this week, Flinders managed to hold onto top spot on the ladder by the slimmest of margins. North sit in second on goal difference only, with Arista and Boomers both a further point behind. Glenelg sit in fifth, with a point from each of their matches so far.

Division 2

Boomers 2 Green v North

The first of our Div 2 match-ups saw Boomers take on North. Boomers were hampered by some injuries early, and struggled against what looks to be a very strong North side. Boomers struggled to find goals, despite some promising offence, while North balanced their offence well, with 6 individual goal scorers. North prevailed, 13-6. Peter Corcoran was the lone Boomer to score multiple goal, with 3, while Aaron Sykes picked up 5 for North.

Boomers Purple v Flinders

Boomers entered this game having lost by a single goal last week, and were determined to not make the same mistake twice. They shot extremely well from the outset, with their long shooting in particular being particularly impressive.  On the other end of the court, Flinders struggled to find the korf, despite creating plenty of opportunities. Ultimately, this was the story of the match, with Boomers out-shooting Flinders to a 24-11 win. Andrew Hutchesson picked up 4 in a Div 2 cameo for Flinders, while Ryan Gartner scored 8 for Boomers.

Arista Red v Glenelg Orange

Both teams entered this game looking for their first win. The match started out close as both sides worked hard to reel in any leads. Ultimately, however, some of the more experienced Arista players did enough to ensure they opened up a lead, and continued to build on it as the match went one. Arista ended up getting their first win, 17-10. Will Anderson, Liberty Booth and Archie Cooper all picked up 2 goals for Glenelg, while Michael Ferris picked up 6 for Arista.

Arista Yellow v Glenelg Black

This match saw arguably the most experienced Div 2 side take on one blooding some new players this year. Ultimately, this experience proved too much to overcome, with Arista giving an excellent demonstration of the threat accurate mid-range shooting combined with post control poses. An even offensive effort across the board saw all Arista players get on the board, as well as 9 Glenelg players. Glenelg were by no means disgraced, and were able to string together several passages of goal-for-goal scoring, thanks in part to some remarkable long shooting. Arista got the win 30-13, with Ned Spurr and Ben Gluzkowski picking up 3 each for Glenelg, while Craig Miller paced Arista with 6.

This win sees Arista Yellow sitting on top of the ladder as the only undefeated team this year. Boomers Purple, North and Flinders are separated only by goal difference on 2 wins, while Boomers Green, Glenelg Black and Arista Red are grouped together with 1 win each in a very congested ladder. Genelg Orange sit in eighth, with 3 points.

Matches continue this Sunday (August 2) with Round 4 at Titanium Security Arena. We look forward to seeing everyone out there, as we continue this condensed season.