Region Five: South Coast

The 2023 South Coast Regional League took place over the weekend at the Shoalhaven Indoor Sports Centre, with 16 teams from around the South Coast region competing across three divisions.

Division 3 
In the Division 3, there were some great battles and some close games through out the division, but it was the Kiama 17s who finished on top, closely followed by the Eurobodalla 17s, Sapphire Coast 17s and Queanbeyan Division 3 to round out the top 4.

The first Division 3 semi-final saw the Kiama 17s take on the Queanbeyan Division 3 team for a place in the Grand-final. Queanbeyan fought hard throughout the whole game but the Kiama 17s proved to strong on the day to win 21-14. In second Division 3 semi-final, Eurobodalla 17s took on the Sapphire Coast 17s. Both teams traded goal in the first half with the Sapphire Coast 17s leading by 1 goal at the half time break. But in the second half, the Eurobodalla 17s took all the momentum, winning the second semifinal 20-12.

In the Division 3 Grand final, Eurobodalla 17s got off to a very strong start in the first half, leading the Kiama 17s 11-5 at the half time break. Kiama 17s came back strong in the second half but the Eurobodalla 17s were too good at the end, winning the Division 3 grand final 18-15.

The 3rd place play-off in Division 3, saw the Sapphire Coast 17s defeat Queanbeyan division 3 21-16 and take third place of Division 3.

Division 2
In Division 2, the round competitions was dominated by the Southern Highlands 17s going undefeated and top of the table followed by Queanbeyan Division 2, Kiama Opens and Goulburn Opens rounding out the top 4.

The first Division 2 semi-final saw the Southern Highlands 17s opens take on the Goulburn Opens for a place in the grand final. Both Teams fought incredibly hard, trading goal for almost the entire match. But in the end the Southern Highlands 17s managed to hold on and defeat the Goulburn Opens by one, winning 24-23. The second semi-final saw the Kiama Opens take on the Queanbeyan div 2 in one of the great battles. Nothing separated these teams, with both teams sitting on 7 goals a piece at the half time break. In the second half both teams traded the lead but on the final whistle, both teams were locked at 17 goals apiece and headed for extra time. During extra time, nothing separated the two the teams with both teams trading goal for goal, leaving both leaves locked at 21 goals apiece after the first lot of extra time. With still no winner, both teams continued until at a team managed to hold a 2 goal advantage. With no end in sight, Queanbeyan managed to capitalize on a turnover in the double extra time giving them the 2 goal advantage needed for victory. The final score was 23-21 to Queanbeyan.

In the Division 2 Grand Final, Southern Highlands 17s took on Queanbeyan Division 2. The Southern Highlands 17s had all the momentum in the in the first half leading 15-7 at half time. Queanbeyan Division 2 fought hard in the second half but the Southern Highlands 17s were just too good, defeating Queanbeyan Div 2 25-18 and taking out the Division 2 Regional League title The 3rd place play-off in Division 2, the Goulburn Opens defeated the Kiama Opens 23-16.

Division 1
Division 1 saw some great battles and close games, but it was the Queanbeyan Division 1 team finishing the minor rounds on top with the Illawarra Opens, Shoalhaven and the Illawarra 17s rounding out the top four teams heading to the final’s series.
The first of the semi-finals saw an Illawarra Opens take on Shoalhaven who were coming into match full of confidence after defeating the Illawarra Opens in the competition rounds. Shoalhaven fought hard but the Illawarra Opens were too strong defeating Shoalhaven 23-18. The second semi-final was between Queanbeyan Division 1 and the Illawarra 17s. Queanbeyan were just too good on the day, defeating the Illawarra 17s 36-19 setting up Division 1 Grand Final rematch between Illawarra Opens and Queanbeyan Division 1 side.
In the Division 1 Grand-Final, Queanbeyan took all the momentum right in the first half, taking an 8 goal lead going into the half time. The Illawarra fought hard in the second half but were outclassed by the Queanbeyan Division 1 side. The final result saw the Queanbeyan side becoming the South Coast Regional League Champions with the final score of 22-15.
In the 3rd Place play-off in Division 1 Shoalhaven defeated the Illawarra 17s 28-18.

Regional League is also not possible without the team of dedicated umpires officiating matches over the weekend, thank you to all the team in white and a special mention to the Grand Final Umpires for Division 1 Heidi Walton, Kasey Scoble and Torren Eyles and for Division 2 Torrens Eyles, Sam Eade and Nancy Carl and Division 3 Rhiannon Evans, Lauren Hawkins and Rachel Cox. Over the weekend the South Coast Umpire Allocations team awarded Samuel Eade (Queanbeyan Netball Association) his National B Badge. Thank you to the Umpire Allocators Emma Corfield, Kim Chan and Karen Dawson who worked with the umpires throughout the competition.  

Region Manager Kaytlin Langdon