The National Club Championships took place this year in Victor Harbor, South Australia over the June long weekend. Sydney sent over a 10 person strong team consisting of 5 male players (Daniel, Graham, Rob, Ian and Coach Mark) and 5 female players (Sarah, Anne, Nancy, Meena and Neha).
The Redbacks had three games scheduled on the Saturday and Sunday at the Victor Harbor Recreation Centre. The Sydney players making their National debuts this year were Ian, Anne, Nancy and Neha.
Game 1
Sydney Redbacks (7) v Newcastle Royals (5)
The first game of the tournament saw Sydney take on their NSW Korfball rivals the Newcastle Royals. After three very competitive games as part of the NSW Korfball Championship, both teams were keen to continue their rivalry on neutral territory.
The Redbacks gained their first points of the competition and the weekend with a 7-5 win in a very close contest. Sydney only had 8 players for this game and were able to keep Newcastle behind on the scoreboard throughout the game. In his first Nationals game, Ian led the scoring for Sydney with two penalties and two shots. Daniel scored two and Sarah one to help Sydney to the win.
Game 2
Sydney Redbacks (12) v Adelaide Boomers (14)
In Sydney’s second game they came up against the eventual winners of B grade, Adelaide Boomers. Sydney was shooting well early with Graham, Rob, Anne (first goal at Nationals), Daniel, Ian and Neha (first goal at Nationals) giving Sydney an 8-4 lead going into the halftime break. Sydney struggled in the second half on offence and defence, allowing the Boomers to score 10 goals while only managing to score four goals through Ian and Graham. The team was disappointed to have let their 4 point lead disappear, but took a number of positive out of the game as well as areas to improve upon before their final game of the day.
Game 3
Sydney Redbacks (15) v Glenelg (5)
Sydney Redbacks finished off the first day of their Nationals campaign with a very convincing 10 point win over Glenelg Korfball Club. Glenelg came into the game with a team mixed with youth and experience (6 Glenelg players were teenagers) and Sydney congratulates all of the new players on their debut on the national stage.
The game saw Sydney making good use of their footwork with 8 of their goals coming from running in shots (6 of them in the first half!). A half time score of 9-3 gave Sydney a comfortable buffer going into the second half, and while they didn’t score as many goals in the second half, there was a number of spectacular shots that landed for Sydney. The five goal scorers in this match were Rob, Anne, Meena, Ian and Graham.
Game 4
Sydney Redbacks (10) v Adelaide Boomers (A grade) (20)
With only 3 teams in the A grade competition this year, each B grade team played one game against an A grade side. The B grade teams would receive points if they played this game, regardless of the score.
Sydney played the eventual A grade winners, Adelaide Boomers. Their team contained a number of current Australian players (who will be playing in the World Games starting on the 22nd of July) as well as the current Newcastle Royals coach Ben Wallace. Coach Mark made his first appearance for the team, scoring a goal in each half. Nancy scored from long-range to record her first goal at Nationals. Rob also nailed 2 drop-off shots against Ben to end the first half down 12-8. The scoring quietened down in the second half with only 3 goals from Sydney and 8 from Adelaide. Sydney had 6 scorers this match in Daniel, Mark, Nancy, Rob, Graham and Anne.
Game 5
Sydney Redbacks (9) v Arista Marion (7)
A very close finish between Arista and the Redbacks gave Sydney their third win of the weekend. Sydney set off at a blistering pace, taking an early lead and went into the break with a commanding 5–1 lead through the scoring of Nancy, Graham and Ian. Sydney’s defence slipped in the second half with Arista managing to score 6 goals to Sydney’s 4. Honorary Sydney teammate Sharni Lans played an incredible game for Arista but could only bring them within two points of Sydney.
Game 6
Sydney Redbacks (10) v Flinders University (17)
The Redbacks went into their final group game of the weekend needing a win against Flinders to qualify for the finals to face Boomers for the B grade title. Flinders took an early lead, and were able to contain Sydney’s scoring to 3 goals in the first half (halftime score of 3-9 to Flinders). While Sydney managed to score 7 in the second half, Flinders were able to keep their lead throughout the second half and come away with the win. Sydney had 5 scorers in their final game with Mark, Graham, Ian, Anne and Neha contributing to the scoring.
Scoring Summary
Game 1 -Newcastle |
Game 2 -Boomers B grade |
Game 3 -Glenelg |
Game 4 –Boomers A grade |
Game 5 -Arista |
Game 6 -Flinders |
Total for Nationals |
|
Females |
|||||||
Neha Amlani |
1 |
1 |
2 |
||||
Nancy Bek |
1 |
1 |
2 |
||||
Sarah Higginson |
1 |
1 |
|||||
Anne Smeitink |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
11 |
|
Meena Subramanyam |
1 |
1 |
|||||
|
|
|||||||
Males |
|
||||||
Rob Allen |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
|||
Daniel Berg |
2 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
|||
Ian Buckle |
4 |
4 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
17 |
|
Graham Morris |
4 |
6 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
15 |
|
Mark Zilm |
2 |
4 |
6 |
Sydney City Redbacks Korfball Club 