Turner Hall underscored its championship aspirations after trashing Roberts Hall 25-10 on Tuesday night in the annual inter-hall competition. Turner improved its record to 3-1 whilst Roberts is fighting for survival after falling to an abysmal 1-3.
The odds where stacked against Roberts from the get-go in the game held at the Monash University sports centre. Whilst Turners squad boasted 20 players, Roberts only had 10 players available.
After looking evenly matched for the first minutes of the game, Turner began to pull away midway through the first quarter. By using the height of their forward players the team took the lead 5 minutes in and quickly extended it to a 4-1 lead by the end of the first. Visible frustration began spreading on the Roberts side-line with one player screaming “Why can no one catch a f***** ball”.
The second quarter began well for Roberts with forward Austin scoring quick back to back goals to make it 4-3 after 2 minutes. The comeback was short lived however with Turners forwards taking over once again and going up 9-4 by halftime.
Despite having scored all of Roberts 4 goals, star player Austin was not happy with his performance at halftime: “I missed too many chances and their defence is really making it difficult for me to use my height.”
The third quarter was the final dagger to Roberts winning hopes after going scoreless and conceding 10 goals on the other end making it 19-4 for Turner. The Roberts Coach made a crucial error by substituting Austin and thus benching the teams only goal scoring threat. In his absence Turner dominated led by sharpshooting forward Sophia who scored five in the third quarter.
With Austin back in the mix the fourth quarter proved to become a more balanced affair. At this point both teams knew who would leave the court as the winner, but Roberts fought well, making it 19-6 early in the fourth. However, yet again Turner was able to respond quickly using their suffocating midfield and height upfront to make it 21-6. After exchanging goal after goal, the final buzzer sounded with the score being 25-10.
Commenting on his team’s blowout win Turner Coach Andrew said “I think the key to our success tonight was our crisp ball movement and our lockdown defence. Very pleased with our performance tonight.”
Man of the match Austin, who remarkably scored all of Roberts 10 goals, said “Even though we lost we can take a lot of positives out of this last quarter. We rebounded well and finished on a high note even if the score line does not reflect it.”
Indeed, Roberts inexperience shined through all game, but this was a performance to build on for their next match against Logan. Tightening up their defence will be the focus for Roberts going forward.
Turner on the other hand looks like a real juggernaut with playmakers all over the field and a lock for the upcoming playoffs. Next week they will play in what looks to be a playoff precursor against undefeated Holman.
Above the Rim 