Sport

Fast-starting 17-and-under Mounts outdone by consistent Hawks

By Oliver Shedden

Sep 13, 2025

Tarli Nihill and Mt Pleasant weren’t able to get over the top of Huntly in the 17-and-under netball grand final on Saturday. Photo: Jordan Townrow.

While Mt Pleasant started the 17-and-under Heathcote District Netball League grand final strongly, Huntly’s solid four-quarter performance put them over the top at Strauch Reserve.

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The Mounts jumped out the gate strongly, keeping the Hawks caged 11-10 midway through the first quarter.

However, Huntly unleashed its fury late in the first quarter to keep Mt Pleasant scoreless the rest of the way and snatch a 16-11 advantage at the first turn.

The Hawks kept hammering away, tallying 16 unanswered goals by the time Mt Pleasant got back on the board midway through the second period.

With Huntly’s blistering pace overwhelming the Mounts, they went back to the drawing board as half-time loomed.

Co-captain and goal attack Tarli Nihill kept them in the contest with her methodical entries inside the goal circle.

Too many turnovers proved costly to the Mounts, who were hanging on by a thread - trailing 35-19 at the major break.

It was a tight contest to start the third period, with Mt Pleasant putting on six early goals to give it a sniff at a comeback, but, Huntly’s defence was able to weather the storm.

As the third stanza wore on, both teams struggled to find the back of the net, with the Mounts only able to shave off one goal from the deficit, thanks in large part to Nihill’s switch to the mid-court directing traffic, the difference 15 with a frame to play.

After persevering through a Mt Pleasant fightback the quarter before, it was all Hawk-ball down the stretch, nailing 18 goals while limiting the Mounts to eight to fly away with the win 63–38.