Glenelg Korfball Club

Round 3 saw eighty six (86) goals in two A grade games.  Boomers and Glenelg hit 49 in their game which I think that is a game high record for State League.  The game itself was surprisingly even at half time, but Boomers hit their straps after the break.  James Tye having his first run for the season after serving his two game suspension from the final last year.  Brad Marks, coming on for Boomers at half time certainly made a difference.  Boomers running out easy winners in the end at 30-19.  But Glenelg showed that they can certainly hold their own with the top teams, at least for 30 minutes.  They have fifteen weeks to stretch that out to 60 minutes then they could be looking for their first finals berth.  Goal scorers were Ash Reddaway (Boomers) with the first 10 (2 pen) of the year, Mark Hamilton (Boomers) with 7 (4 pen) and Kia Rogers (Boomers) and Alison Spurr (Glenelg) with 4 each.

The other A grade game saw NAKC and Sikopi renew their rivalry in season 09, by all accounts it was another physical affair with both teams putting their bodies on the line.  Well into the middle of the second half it was still close and anyone’s game, but Sikopi must have wanted it more, they were able to string together a couple of end changes on unanswered goals which took the wind out of Norths sails.  Sikopi running away with the game where the score did not perhaps reflect the closeness at 24-13.  Sikopi’s new “away” strip gets the thumbs up, Michael Houston (NAKC) got the years first yellow card and Sikopis’ Steve Coles and Karen Zilm got 6 goals each (Steve 3 pen), NAKC Sarah Cranwell managed 5 as well.  (With Pam Reynolds, ex Mitcham playing her first game after transfering, did I hear calls of "Broekesey" from one of the Sikopi divisions???)

B grade saw some low scoring games except for the NAKC-Sikopi clash where NAKC got their own back winning a close one at 18-16.  Two well matched teams with the telling difference at the end of the day being the experience of Adrian Terrace on Sikopi’s up and coming youngster Tyson White (In his first B grade game).   Nathan Robertson (NAKC) getting 5 and Angela Easson (Sikopi) also getting 5 (2 pen)

A replay of last years B grade final did not disappoint as a game, although the number of goals from two top B grade sides did.  Boomers got out to an early lead but Glenelg never gave up and at 8 all with less then five minutes to go it was an exciting finish.  Boomers hitting a long shot and then a penalty to seal the game in the dying minutes at 10-8.  Pete Corcoran (Boomers) getting 6 (1 pen)  

Arista took on Mitcham, who are really struggling to get going this year, but with many under 19 players in their team, they should improve quickly.  Arista shooting better and holding Mitcham to only 2 goals ran out easy winners at 13-2.  Dimitris Topkas and Danni Chesson both from Arista and both with 3 goals each. 

C Grade saw one of the Sikopi teams having to forfeit to NAKC as they did in the under 19’s, Sikopi president advising that they had sixteen players who pulled out for the weekends games.  The forfeit means NAKC win the game at 10-0.

Boomers took on Glenelg in a low scoring game which was at times very physical.  Boomers only managing to pull away in the last fifteen minutes of the game to win 7-4.  Shannon Dodd (Boomers) with 3……. I should say welcome back to Matt Farmer who played for Glenelg….must be about fifteen years since you last played Matt ???(The return of the Pink Panthers???)

Sikopi (Blue) showed why they are on top of the table with a convincing win over Arista at 21-4, Arista having no answer to some accurate shooting by the in form Sikopi.  Tyson White getting 6 and Charlotte Hughes (Sikopi) getting 3

Under 19
The only under 19 game for the day was Arista v Mitcham/Boomers (NAKC v Sikopi was a forfeit) with Arista never being troubled by the combined team.  Arista easily by 21-4.  Andrew Hutchesson with 6, Tony Beeson with 5.

A top of the table clash this week between NAKC and Arista in under 19's will be the game of the week and a showing of some future korfball talent.  Game is at 4:30 on court 3.

Hi all,

Round 2 results and league tables are attached.

Last week I didn’t think anyone would get close to either Arista or Boomers in the A grade, but I have to eat my words this week.  Sikopi, coached again by Karen Zilm, proved to be the surprise package when they took on Arista.  In their first game of the season Sikopi showed they have recruited well with Jeremy Harris and Sue Thalbourne from Mitcham electing to continue to play A grade and with Ben Wallace missing they are still not at full strength.  It was by all accounts a fairly physical game with neither team prepared to give, Sikopi got the early lead but Arista reeled them in and by half time had a slim lead.  They held onto that lead throughout the second half.  Sikopi never gave up and a few times got back to within a goal only for Arista to answer.  With ten minutes to go there was only a goal in it, Sikopi seemed to lose focus then, letting Arista score a few unanswered goals to run the game out at 22 to 17.  One of the few games in which the Arista girls have been outscored (although Katharine Kleemann didn’t play) Top scorers were Matt Kleemann (Arista) with 6 (1 pen) and Ashlyn Wetherall (Sikopi) with 5.

Boomers took on NAKC in the other A grade game with NAKC under the pump from the first whistle.  Although they tried hard they had no answers to Boomers game.  At half time the score was 12-3 with NAKC seeming to struggle at times with the shot clock.  The second half did get better for NAKC in that they scored 6 more goals, but they let Boomers have far to many shots (and goals) from the collect.  Boomers easy winners at 27-9.  Ashley Reddaway (Boomers) with 8 (1 pen) and Megan O’Keefe (Boomers) with 4.

B Grade saw a few less goals in their games than last week, so the scorers were happier, Boomers find them selves at the top of the table after a 14-7 win over NAKC, goals were hard to come by for both teams, not through great defense but more the basket seemed to have glad wrap over it so many shots just would not drop.  Adrian Riessen and Deb Adams (Boomers) both with 4.

Sikopi came back to earth this week, after their 28 goals last week they must have used them all up as they could only manage 5 this week.  Going down to Arista 12-5 Dimitris Topkas (Arista) with 4 and Danni Chesson (Arista) with 3

Last years B grade champions, Glenelg, took on the understaffed Mitcham.  Glenelg showing they are still a force to be reckoned with even with their retirements, staying ahead of Mitcham for the whole game and winning 12-8.  Lee Jones (Glenelg) with 4 Marie Kelley (Mitcham) with 3

C grade saw a replay of last years C grade grand final between Boomers and NAKC.  NAKC out of the blocks early and with some good shooting found themselves 4 goals ahead in the first half.  Boomers clawed their way back into the game and with about 5 minutes to go had stolen the lead by one goal.  NAKC fought for everything and were rewarded with a late equalizer to see the game out at 7-7.  I look forward to more good games between these two teams.  Stephen Roberts (Boomers) top scored with 4.

Sikopi (Red) had a good win over Arista 14-10 with some good shooting from both teams.  Sikopi with two C grade teams showed they are not just two weaker teams to be taken lightly.  Kristen Pash (Sikopi) and young Nick Bungey (Arista) both scoring 4 each.

The other Sikopi team (Blue) also had a good win over Glenelg.  Not so many goals but it was a hard fought game none the less.   Sikopi with 7 to Glenelgs 4, Ryan Gartner (Sikopi) with 4.  This puts Sikopi (Blue) on top of the table with two wins, due to the draw between Boomers and NAKC.

The under 19 competition saw two club teams combine this week.  Neither club was able to sustain a team on their own and to join them was a logical conclusion.  There was a mix up with who was/should have had the bye but NAKC took it and had a training game instead (well done NAKC) The combined team of Mitcham/Boomers (Bitcham I think!) took on Glenelg and even though Glenelg were a player short they still managed to squeeze out a valuable win  Glenelg up by 10 to 8.  Ashe Other (Glenelg) with 5 and Patrick Branford (Glenelg) with 3

Arista showed they are definitely finals contenders with a good win over last years finalist Sikopi on a 16-8 score line.  Dimitris Topkas (Arista) with 6 Andrew Hutchinson (Arista) with 5 and Emily Hutchinson (Arista) with 4…

Don’t forget games this week are at Westminster and Cabra College……if you are not sure where you are playing, ask someone.

Well here we are again, the start of another korfball season at ETSA Park.

The big news of 2009 is the continuing struggle of Mitcham Korfball Club.  The start of the year finds them unable to field an A grade team.  They are keeping up the fight with one senior team in the B grade competition and have started the rebuild with an Under 19 team.  One of the oldest clubs in SA, they originally started out as Roadies Korfball Club or RKC back in 1987 before a name change to Mitcham.  I am sure we all want to see them survive and thrive and let’s hope they are back in A grade next year.

Other changes this year see the 08 NAKC Head Coach Denis Giles head back to Arista after only one year at the helm of the fledgling club.  Adrian Terrace takes over from him making his debut as a head coach in his clubs second year at the top level.

John Spurr makes a return to coaching A grade as he has taken up the position at the newly named Glenelg Korfball Club who have shed the Scaldis name and colours to get a new look (which unfortunately won’t be ready for a couple more weeks)

Sikopi looked like they were going to struggle this year with the loss of a few players but I’m led to believe they may have picked up a couple of Mitchams players who still wanted to play in A grade.

One great thing for season 09 is that ALL clubs have entered teams into the Under 19 competition and with some Under 13 players out there having a go as well…..Could it be that korfball in Adelaide will survive the test of time????

Onto week one and the Shot Clock has arrived, for those of you who don’t know A grade games are following the International Standards with the introduction of a 24 second shot clock, similar to basketball.  Hopefully we will see the game speed up a bit and a few more goals.  I recommend everyone gets a look at an A grade game over the next few weeks to see what it is all about.  Might have it in other grades next year ????

The replay of the A grade grand final from last year between Arista and Adelaide Boomers did not disappoint as a season opener.  The game was fast paced, physical and with plenty of goals.  Forty six (46) of them to be exact, with Arista getting 27 to beat Boomers with 19.  It seemed at times Arista had a homing beacon on their basket as shots dropped from everywhere.   Arista led pretty much all day and although Boomers got close a few times Aristas accuracy kept closing the door.  In Ashley Reddaways first game back for Boomers after 12 months off, he showed he still has it with 6 goals but it was the Arista girls in Vanessa Braithwaite with 6 and Katharine Kleemann with 5 that led the newly suited club to victory.   With both these teams being stronger than they were last year I would suggest that other clubs will struggle against them.

The second A grade game was between Glenelg and NAKC, both with new coaches and keen to get an early win in the season.  Glenelg didn’t have their new uniforms but made up for it with their enthusiasm.

It was a close match until mid way through the second half.  NAKC led 11-9 then Glenelg just seemed to find their range and let go with a number of good long shots and once down by a few goals NAKC could not get themselves back into the match.  Glenelg coming out with their first win under their new name and the first for John Spurr as coach.  Young Patrick Branford (Glenelg) showing he has developed with his under 23 Australian team stint by hitting 5 goals and David Ey (Glenelg) also with 5 of his own.

81 goals in two games of korfball….love that shot clock.

B grade saw Sikopi, also in a new strip take on Mitcham.  Mitcham unfortunately were a male short and had no answer to Sikopi strengths or their good shooting.   Sikopi worthy winners with a big first game score of 28-6.  Sikopi players Nick Gartner hit 6, Craig Dawson got 5 and Angela Easson managed 5.

What started out as a good close game between Boomers and Arista saw them goal for goal in the first half at 8-7.  It didn’t end up that way, Boomers taking control in the second half with some tight defense running the game out at 19-9 Boomers Josh Page slotting 5.

Game of the day for B grade was NAKC and last years champions, Glenelg, both teams a bit weaker than last year with some promotions to A grade.  Both teams struggling to score with many opportunities going begging.  NAKC held their nerve in the last few minutes to take the game 11-10 Adrian Terrace top scoring with 4.

C Grade without Mitcham competing looked set for a 5 team competition until Sikopi stepped up to the plate and said they could field two teams.  Great work by Sikopi….we will wait for registrations but I’m betting this will make them the biggest club in Australia at the moment.  They played each other and had a good battle with Sikopi Blue just getting over the line at 13-10.  Michael Duke and Tyson White both from the blue team getting 4 goals each.  Last years title holders Adelaide Boomers took on another new look team in the newly kitted out Arista who had some new young players there, great to see more kids of  korfballers getting amongst it.  Go you Bungeys. (They join the Vardas’s and an Adams from the korfball dinosaur families).  Unfortunately for Arista Boomers showed they are continuing on from last years good form with a convincing 18-7 victory.  Jo Cottle from Boomers with 5.

NAKC took on Glenelg and showed the style that got them to last years grand final with a relatively easy win over Glenelg at 17-9  NAKC player Shilton Bryce with 5.

The Under 19 were out in force this year with six teams competing, although three of them were short of players…..but most games went ahead in the spirit of korfball.  Sikopi took on Mitcham in what was a six on six battle with a couple of ring ins.…..must have been a lot of running in that game??  Sikopi outscoring Mitcham to win 15-3.  Good shooting from Tyson White of Sikopi who got 7 (Also worth noting he got 4 in a C grade game too)  NAKC who took the flag last year showed they are serious about back to back titles with a solid win over Glenelg 17-8 Nikki from NAKC top scored with 8, Brett from NAKC got 5 (No surnames on score sheet) and a Joseph Otto from Glenelg managed 5 goals out of his teams 8.  Boomers took on Arista with Boomers being a couple of  players short and they had a couple of ring ins……the score being 15-5 at the end of the game, but no one bothered to note anything on the score sheet…..game was a forfeit at 10-0 but  no goals allocated to anyone unfortunately.

Enjoy the week off, remember be nice to your mother......