Cross-town rivals Horsham and Horsham Saints will battle it out in the A Grade netball second semi-final to jump straight to the grand final.

Horsham Demons were undefeated minor premiers and will look to head to the final game in straight sets.

The Saints set up their finals berth in style with an eight-goal win against Southern Mallee Giants in the qualifying finals.

It was a highly competitive game and the second and fourth quarters were closely contested.

Jodie Hayes, coming into centre for the Giants in the second quarter, changed the Giants’ momentum.

The Saints’ early lead ensured their final win, while the Giants shrunk the margin in the second and final quarters, but it was not enough to get a break in front of the Saints.

Abby Hallam had her eye in for goals early on for the Saints and was shooting accurately.

Larnie Hobbs was key in defence for the Saints, getting her hands to many intercepts and rebounds.

Steph Thomson worked hard in goals for the Giants and shot 32 of the team’s final 53 goals.

While the Saints will have to give their everything to defeat Horsham, they will still make an appearance in the preliminary final should they lose. The Giants will not be so lucky.

To continue in finals, the Giants must defeat Minyip-Murtoa in the first semi-final on Sunday.

Minyip-Murtoa defeated Dimboola in an elimination final and has kept itself in the fight for the flag for another week.

The first quarter saw both teams tussle to gain a lead and the Burras were two goals up at the first break.

Faith McKenzie had eyes for every intercept in defence and was key in Minyip-Murtoa establishing a lead.

The second quarter was again closely contested and Minyip-Murtoa had a four-goal lead at halftime.

Coming back from an injury, Nicole Polycarpou took the court after half time and hardly missed a goal in the third quarter. This took the game back to a one-goal margin before the final term.

Dimboola managed to even the scores at the start of the last quarter, however, the Burras used the last of their energy to capitalise on every opportunity to score and jumped ahead for the win.

Tamika Mentha played well for Minyip-Murtoa through the midcourt and Paige Glover was a standout for Dimboola in wing defence and centre.

The Giants and the Burras have both come away with wins against each other this season and it could go either way on Sunday.

This week: Second semi-final at Horsham City Oval, 12.15pm on Saturday, Horsham Demons v Horsham Saints; First semi-final at Ararat, 12.15pm on Sunday, Southern Mallee Giants v Minyip-Murtoa. 

Last week: Horsham Saints 61 d Southern Mallee Giants 53, Minyip-Murtoa 41 d Dimboola 34.

– Abby Walter

The entire August 31, 2022 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!

The entire August 31, 2022 edition of AgLife is available online. READ IT HERE!