Netball Inter-Insulars: Guernsey nail their targets as Jersey’s dominance continues

Monday 11 March 2024

Jersey maintained their superiority over Guernsey for another year in the netball Inter-Insulars, but the Sarnians have taken comfort from seeing progress through their ranks.

In the senior A game, Jersey quietened the home crowd early in the first quarter, they were 14 points up before the green’s registered and ended that period leading 17-3.

For Jersey it was a case of sticking to their processes and not getting distracted by the nature of the fixture.

For Guernsey, regrouping, adapting so they could feed their shooters and refocusing on the pre-match targets of holding their rivals to 10 points in each quarter.

The greens then enjoyed their best quarter of the match, trailing 32-14 at the halfway point.

Both teams looked to the benches as the game wore on and it was an opportunity to give some younger players game time.

The third quarter ended with Jersey 46-22, before a final blitz piled the points on as fitness levels told to finish the match 65-29.

Pictured: Guernsey Head Coach Sally Carns looks for a reaction after a first quarter in which Jersey dominated.

"I said beforehand that we had a list of targets," said Guernsey Head Coach Sally Carns.

"Other than the first quarter of the senior A game, they absolutely nailed those targets."

The progress being made by Guernsey can be seen in the scoreline, holding Jersey to a 36 point gap is a perceptible improvement.

In their clash last year, Jersey came away with a 74-27 victory, and in the Inter Island Games earlier this season they beat Guernsey 79-28.

Pictured: Guernsey centre Tillie Graham scans the court.

Jersey Head Coach Serena Kersten was pleased to maintain their superiority in the fixture, which offered a good opportunity in terms of player development as well as giving a run out to Leah Griffin who has been injured for half the season.

"Getting out early is important when you're away from home in terms of taking the crowd out of things. We know how comfortable we feel at home, and I didn't want the opposition to be feeling that way, and be up against it. I was really pleased with the start, we were able to get an early foothold and maintain that as the game went on."

Jersey's Becca Forrest took the player of the match award.

The noise levels had gone up a notch in the fixture before as Guernsey registered their only success over two days of action at Beau Sejour.

In a fiercely competitive encounter, they won the O30s 58-50.

Jersey took the B fixture 50-38, a game which only had the odd score in it at times.

The Sunday had begun as the Saturday had gone all day with a Jersey win in the U16s, 71-21.

The main match on Saturday was the U19s, which Jersey won 49-41, a result that overturned Guernsey's only win on the road in 2023.

Guernsey got out to a 5-1 lead, and still held that four goal cushion after 10 minutes, but Jersey came back and ended the opening quarter 11-10 to the good.

The visitors pulled away to lead 26-20 at half time, and stretched away again in a decisive third quarter to lead 38-28.

Earlier Jersey had won the U11s 22-3, the U14s 41-22 and the U12s 30-10.

Wednesday's Cool Down podcast will bring you more reaction from the weekend's action.