On Saturday, our Nomads Shadows faced Freestylers Eclipse in a close match up. Looking to gain a big win, Shadows brought a big squad filled with lots of quality and versatility. The game began and only lasted the best of a minute, before the umpire made a first interruption and boots GA Becs off the court in a confusing encounter and discussion about her nails. A substitution is swiftly made and the game continues, both teams getting on the scoresheet after a few chances. Slow start to the game in general, however GK Jade consistently does well to reduce Freestylers chances, grasping successfully at lots of rebounds. The game is stopped yet again as the substitute Kerst has forgotten to take her watch off, ironically the watch has taken more time off this quarter .Kersten is clinical shortly after play is resumed, Shadows trying to get into the game and starting to take a couple chances. C and Captain Amy worked hard to get some control into her side showing some great leadership skills, meanwhile WA Sam tried to up the tempo of the game with some quick passing. The Freestylers however were posing a problem for the Shadows, the GS ruthless in her shooting accuracy, wasn't going to be a cruising job for Ella, however thus far her excellent defending prevented it from being more. Some great physical battling from WD Molly sees the Shadows continue to fight for the ball, and electric movement from Liz proves hard to track, not for a spectator however as those bright yellow trainers stick out like a sore thumb. The first quarter ended with the Shadows 8-4 down, struggling to find any sort of rhythm up to this point, best player so far would definitely be the umpire, superb first quarter.

A few changes as the second quarter begins, they finally let Becs back on into GA, and within a few moments she bags her first of the game. Laura on at WD provided some much needed stability for the Shadows, and Darcey with some great interceptions to cut off Freestylers attacks. Becs continued to scare the opposition defenders, showing some great scoring form. Whereas the only thing that Amy scared, was any children that were watching from the side with her bad language, showing incredible passion for the team. The Shadows were starting to find some form with some quality passages of play, finding some nice combinations and actually finishing off chances. Jade and Ella continued to be a wall at the back, Ella particularly standing out with her bronze tan in the middle of a cold wet day in Gloucester. Still a few problems in the Shadows structure however as you could see some frustration from the bench, the game becoming a bit crowded and a bit of a mess, with some reshaping needed. Despite this the Shadows still showed their quality and put up a fight, managing to bring the game slightly back come the end of the second quarter, as they shortened the gap to now only being down 13-11.

The third quarter began with Freestylers GA nonchalantly pretending like she hadn't just run into the wall, anyway moving on. Becs finally missed her first shot of the game, however with the help of Liz, the two of them continued to put the pressure on the Freestylers. Centre court increased in intensity and battle for possession, Shelley coming on and making an instant impact, and Darcey continuing to be a workhorse for the team. Perhaps a little bit too much though as she temporarily turned into Tom Daley in an attempt to dive and block a pass. She came off afterwards. However the Shadows managed to find an equaliser and the game became much closer. The ladies more up for it and the crowd getting more lively, momentum was now swinging the Shadows way. However perhaps the Shadows were let slightly off the hook as Freestylers struggled to hit a barn door, missed chance after missed chance let the Shadows off slightly. Not sure what it is with these funky netball kits, however the colours did slightly clash again. But definitely not to the point where you would get confused with someone right next to you, which was why I was complexed to see a Freestyler pulling on her own teammates shirt, until I came to the realisation that they were trying to help each other keep balance when blocking shots, clearly wasn’t working as Becs continued her shooting accuracy. The third quarter came to an end after a tight encounter, the score now being 20-20.

Shadows' plan involved a positional change for Sam, who now moved to GS, as she eagerly prepared during the interval with some practice shots. The final quarter began with some intensity and pressure, but unfortunately the Shadows went two down quite early on, however the ladies continued to stay motivated with some great communication from everyone. No rest for Ella as she plays a full hard game the same day she gets back from holiday, but is helped by the fact that she is partnered up next to a defending machine in Jade. Nerves start to slip in however and despite catching back up to the freestylers, Shadows become sloppy and start losing the ball too easily. However the ladies keep working, struggling to find that point that can take them in front, till finally Liz calmly slots home to give the Nomads the advantage. The action doesn't stop there as both sides continue to create and concede chances, end to end now and quite the opposite of the very first quarter, myself even being on the edge of my seat watching those final moments. Some great passing from Sam and link up play between the attackers, finds Becs to equalise, cannot be long left, and finally Liz scores again in the dying seconds before the whistle is blown to finalise the Nomad Shadows win by a single goal. A thrilling game between two good sides, everyone playing their part and a well fought 5 points.

Written by Mason Stokes

Nomads Haze looked to continue on the fine form and standards that they have shown this season as they face Old Chelts at Oxtalls. The match began quick and sharp as Haze miss an early opportunity, however is quickly made up for as goal attack, Nadia, slots away the first point of the game. The first quarter continues as a bit of a scramble, some loose passes and missed chances from both sides, not the usual standard for Haze. Contradictory to their name, the Old Chelts had a young and lively squad, were pressing high up the court and pinning the Haze back and they were struggling to get the ball out of their own defensive third. Old Chelts took the lead and started taking their chances, but were dealt with well by GK Sarah and GD Danielle. Sarah posing almost as a wall particularly dealing well with the rebounds thanks to her height, and her defensive partner Danielle displaying a different type of height as she rocks the bright pink socks up to her knees. The pass completion rate of this first part of the game is probably not best pleasing to the coach, Sophie, however I can’t blame the players as both teams wearing navy blue , kit clash? However, despite the misplaced passes, the girls kept working towards the end of the quarter, Alice acting as a workhorse in the centre, and Tegan trying to become Van Persie and headbutting the post. After a fairly lacklustre start, Nomads Haze were down 9-5.

The second quarter starts similar to the last, still quite messy, however definitely signs of better play from Haze. The Old Chelts WD was clearly a strong but aggressive player, and even though the umpire kept annoyingly and unnecessarily blowing her whistle, I could not argue when she stopped the game for consistent fouls on Haze WA, Geraldine. And further up the court the Nomads were still trying to find their shooting momentum, Tegan staying persistent and finally finding the net on a 3rd attempt, after some great rebounding and tips from both shooters. Even though the match wasn’t going exactly to plan thus far, the girls still showed a lot of determination and did not let their heads drop, Catherine being a prime example of the teams hard work as she kept fighting for the ball. Not a perfect second quarter, however the Nomads reduced the gap to only 3 goals.

Coach Sophie clearly had some words with her side at the half time break as it took them some time to get back on the court for the third quarter. And the Nomads then started off well as Nadia finishes off a good move to start the quarter. The ladies were playing some patient netball waiting for the opportunities to arise, and it did through Tegan who converts a great shot from a difficult distance. Tegan starting to find her feet now as she completes a great spin off a good pass from Geraldine in the build up to another point. Lizzie’s introduction to the game was very important to this positive quarter, as she showed her quality in an unfamiliar WD position. And her twin sister Alice continued to dictate the game in the centre of the court running everywhere, about 71% of earth is covered by water, the rest is covered by Alice. The Nomads had clearly raised their performance this quarter, much to delight of the supporters, one man overheard saying “they look like a different team”. The quarter then ended with the Haze turning it around, now leading 24-20.

Into the final quarter and Tegan continues her finishing prowess as she scores again. This Nomads team should also be credited for the shift they are putting in, as 6 of the players played the entirety of the game, people such as Danielle and Geraldine working particulary hard in the centre third. The tiredness did begin to show however as Haze began to slightly slip off and Old Chelts slowly closed the gap. Easy balls into the Old Chelts shooters caught the Nomads out, something that wasn’t happening at the beginning of the game. Not long after the match had become level and it became squeaky bum time for Haze. Despite the comeback, Haze dug deep, stayed persistent and found some crucial points through calm finishing from Nadia. Lizzie started celebrating a little too early as she comes crashing into the crowd. However shortly after the Nomads completed a hard but well earned win as they narrowly beat Old Chelts 34-32.

Written by Mason Stokes