Combined High Schools Knockout Tournament

Last week (31 August - 2 September) Coonabarabran High School’s Open Netball team travelled to Sydney to compete in the Combined High Schools Knockout Tournament.  The girls qualified for this prestigious event by winning the North West Regional Final.  It is the fourth year in a row that Coonabarabran has been crowned the North West champions.

he girls performed outstanding at the CHS knockout tournament representing the school with distinction. They exhibited positive sportsmanship and fair play qualities.  The standard of netball that Coona displayed from a small, comprehensive rural high was amazing.  They toughed it out against some very experienced, tall and fit teams including many sports high schools.  The girls came home with a ranking of 16th in the state.

Coonabarabran High School looks forward to continuing its proud netball tradition. Next year’s new recruits will certainly have the work cut out for them replacing the big shoes that the current Year 12 students have left behind.  Congratulations on a fantastic season!!!

North West Champions

Coonabarabran High School’s Open Girls Netball Team confirmed their position as the top netball team in the North West when they thrashed Narrabri High 47 – 26 on 7 August at the Regional Final played in Coonabarabran.  This is the 4th year in a row that Coonabarabran have been crowned North West champions and without a doubt it was the most dominant performance the girls displayed throughout those years.

The win was consolidated in the 2nd and 3rd quarters where Coona combined outstanding defence with blistering mid court speed.  This allowed our shooters to dominate on the scoreboard.  Corrine Towney and Hannah Johnston continually frustrated the Narrabri attack with feline like anticipation.  The experience Corrine gained as part of the Aust Indigenous U18 side on their tour to New Zealand recently was evident as she continually thwarted Narrabri’s attacking raids. Young Imogen Morrissey was amazing with her agility and keenness, consistently putting pressure on the opposition.

Once the ball was secured in defense Simone Munns, Keira Daniels, Hannah Draper and Chloe Sulter quickly and efficiently transported the ball to the shooters.  Tahlia Kable and Alana Cain worked brilliantly together in the goal circle and in the end scored goals at will. 

A feature of the game was the combination between Simone Munns at centre and Keira Daniels at wing attack.  Simone’s energy has to be to seen to be believed and she continually turns up in places that no one would expect.  Keira’s poise and vision makes her an exceptional players and her contribution to the win is undoubted.  It was also pleasing to see Alana Cain grow in confidence as the game continued and her goal shooting in the back end of the game was outstanding.

It would be remis not to acknowledge the contribution of Tahlia Kable to netball at Coona High.  Tahlia is now in Year 12 and has played in all 4 of the schools netball teams that have won the North West Championships.  Her exceptional skills and sportsmanship are a great example to all aspiring netballers.  The school is also very appreciative of Sally Taylor’s efforts through her continued commitment to refereeing our games. 

To win the final by 21 goals is simply an outstanding performance.  Every girl on the team understood their role and they combined together magnificently as a team.  Coach Charnelle Crossingham was full of praise for the way the girls played the game and ruthlessly put Narrabri to the sword.  The standard of netball that the Coona girls exhibited was a pleasure to watch and they completely dominated a very tall and talented Narrabri side.

This win puts Coona through to the NSW Combined High Schools Top 16 and they will travel to Sydney in September to apply their skills against the top sides in the state.  After the form they showed in this game they are capable of being very competitive in Sydney and finish towards the top end of the final 16 challenge.  The girls can’t wait to get to Sydney and show the sports high schools what can be achieved by a small, comprehensive rural high school.  Bring it on!!!!

Open Netball

Reigning North West Girls Netball Champions, Coonabarabran High School started this years Knockout Tournament in excellent form. The Open Girls Netball Team travelled to Manilla on 25 June to play in the 3rd round of the North West Knockout against Manilla Central School. 

The girls were extremely excited to get back onto the court and play as a team again.  They dusted off the cob-webs and nervous energy in the first few minutes before stamping their authority on the game leaving Manilla searching for answers.  The girls played a consistent game, keeping up the fast pace whilst mixing up their attacking moves.   Coonabarabran High School ran away with the game 55 to 17.  This victory puts the girls into the North West Semi-Final. 

Fresh from the Combined High School’s Netball Championships, Hannah Johnston, Corrine Towney and Simone Munns demonstrated why they were selected into the North West Team.  Attacking players, Keira Daniels and Hannah Draper showed fine form in feeding the ball into the goal circle allowing shooters, Tahlia Kable and Alana Cain to work their magic. The centre court was dominated by Simone Munns’s whose work rate was amazing.  Hannah Johnston, Corrine Towney, Imogen Morrisey and Chloe Sulter worked together to ensure the ball stayed out of their defensive third.  Imogen Morrissey, the new addition to last year’s winner team stepped up into the open team with distinction. 

We wish the girls the best of luck in their Semi-Final game.