Sport
5 August, 2025
Natte secure netball’s highest score for 2025
In an outstanding showcase of attacking netball, Natte Bealiba scored a whopping 107 goals on Saturday, blowing away the visiting Dunolly with a 76-goal victory.
The Swans are the second team to reach triple digits this season, surpassing Avoca’s 100 goals versus Maldon back in round six as the highest score in 2025.
With finals looming, Natte was excited to see defenders Bella Westbrook and Ellie Martin return to the court, replacing Toni Bucknall, who played well in their absence.
While the Swans made some strong additions to their defence, the Eagles had a huge out in theirs with Ashlee Lierich unavailable. B grade shooter/midcourter Nikki Bell was called up in Lierich’s position.
The hosts took no prisoners right from the opening centre pass, going on a 13-1 run to start the match and were in complete control by quarter time, outscoring the Eagles 28-8 in the first term.
MCDFNL leading goalscorer Emma Ryan wasted no time finding her range, taking full advantage of entry passes from Ella Tranter and Ebony Raven to sink a mind-boggling 27 goals from 30 shots in the opening 15 minutes.
Shooting partner Shannae Mills also played a role in Ryan’s first-quarter total while also adding one.
Zoe Aldridge tried to bring an early positive for Dunolly by going a perfect three for three in the opening period.
The Swans kept putting the hammer down in the second quarter, extending their sizeable advantage to 45 goals by half time.
After missing Natte’s last two matches, Westbrook began to severely impact the game, pairing with Macy Tatchell to concede only five goals in the second term.
Those extra stops allowed the hosts to increase their scoring output, averaging a goal every 30 seconds, with Ryan scoring 25 and Mills netting five.
Following some half time changes which included Mia Schodde subbed into defence alongside Leah Davis and Demcy Fraser, as well as Bell shifting back into the midcourt after a short stint at shooter, the Eagles were more competitive in the third quarter.
However, nothing was stopping the host’s momentum, picking up where they left off after the half time break to take a 61-goal advantage into the final break.
Davis, Fraser, and Schodde were hell-bent on slowing down Ryan, and while it somewhat worked, with the star-shooter held to her lowest quarter total of 17, Mills picked up the slack, converting seven shots into goals.
Aldridge was Dunolly’s joint top-scorer with four goals for the quarter.
Even with the final result decided, both teams kept pushing well into the fourth quarter, combining to score a mammoth 35 goals in the final term.
The Swans took out the final quarter 25-10, sending a strong message to the rest of the MCDFNL with their 107-31 win.
Ryan is now only 28 goals away from reaching 1000 goals this season with two games left after netting a stunning 90 goals for the match at a brilliant 91 percent conversion rate.
While deferring well to Ryan, Mills was also deft with her shooting touch, ending with 17 goals.
Aldridge was Dunolly’s leading scorer for the match, finishing with 14 goals after netting seven in the final quarter.