After their matches the ladies of Paulton Rovers Netball Club played against their partners and dads. This is something that has been on the cards for a very long time but has never come fruition. This year with the passing of beloved coach Stu it was finally time to play this game, with all proceeds going to Dorothy House Hospice.

The first game started well, with the Men giving the ladies a good battle, however the Ladies superior skills soon shone through and they took an early lead. The Men were shocked to discover that Netball is not as easy as it seemed and struggled to grasp the rules, with Ryan Tucker playing well at GK despite numerous calls for obstruction and Clive Bush working well in the centre court making his wide proud with many interceptions. After a quick change over the second half started with the Men scoring well and working well in the centre court with particular good performances coming from Rob Black and Joe Conway. Ben Fuller played well at Center using his size well and passing into Ben Wiltshire at GS and Dave Neil at GA who eventually got a few in. However the ladies still won!

The second game was more difficult for the ladies as the men grasped the rules. Dan Bisgrove, Bradley Freeman and Martin Kilburn played well showing great enthusiasm and in some cases even actual skill!!  Despite this once again the girls remained victorious.

Over the course of the day and by a collection in the club Paulton raised over £80 for Dorothy House. Thank you to all the men who played and all the other family who came along to watch and cheer.

Paulton B took to the court after watching their A side battle hard against Sydenhams top team for a win, With this in mind Paulton B were determined to keep to their own winning streak.

The first quarter started well for the side with quick turn overs in the center court by Jade and Liz allowing Paultons shooters score the much needed goals. The quarter ended with Paulton ahead 18-9.

The second quarter started well with Darby and Kristie working hard together and moving well. They were on target for a good percentage of the time and Shelley worked hard making many good interceptions and good passing. The quarter ended 36-19.

After the usual pep talk the third quarter, started slow with the heat getting to the players from both teams with Zoe brought on at WD to provided fresh legs. Ambers fought back well with the young side capitalising on poor passing. The quarter ended with Paulton B still ahead but Ambers were giving them a good fight. 45-34.

Paulton were determined not to loose the lead and came out fighting. Kim and Laura continued to work hard together, gaining more confidence every time they play together, preventing the Ambers shooters from scoring goals. The game finished a well deserved win for Paulton B 58-43.

Paulton A faced fifth in the league Gems on Saturday in an anticipated tough match.  After narrowly missing out in the Cup final to Wells the week before Paulton were determined to put the last game behind them and to come out fighting, playing their own game.

The team didn’t disappoint with a fantastic first quarter.  The girls settled well taking advantage of the few mistakes made by Gems.  Cheryl and Davina worked the circle scoring some fantastic goals with Charlotte, Victoria and Ness making the most of Gems’ shooter’s rebounds.   The first quarter ended 9 – 10 to Gems.

After a quick team talk the girls took to the court determined to improve their moving on to the ball to prevent the defence from making vital interceptions.  Unfortunately their GS found her feet and started shooting from all over the circle, working GK Charlotte to the max.  However, with great attacking drives from Debbie and Hayley the team managed to stay with Gems with Cheryl and Davina still shooting with accuracy making the most of any the defence’s interceptions.  The second quarter finished 20 – 24.

At half time the girls knew that they had to stay within four goals to claim 3 valuable league points.  After a motivational team talk and some tactic changes in defence between Victoria and Charlotte the team took to the court with the added boost of a large group of spectators.  As the match continued Gems made fewer mistakes despite Charlotte, Victoria and Ness working hard in defence.   However the team were playing some great netball with minimal mistakes proving that they could stick with Gems, the quarter finished 35 – 40.

The final quarter saw Shelley come on to replace Ness at WD, her first Premiership match after returning from maternity.  Shelley’s fresh legs gave Paulton an extra boost, especially with her turning over two vital centre passes which Cheryl skilfully converted into goals.  With the crowd now voicing their excitement the team continued to pressure Gems forcing them to make errors when feeding into the circle.  This combined with interceptions in the centre third form Hayley and Debbie ensured that Paulton could catch their opponents.  Finally with Paulton’s fitness kicking in they were able to out play Gems with a quick round of centre passes, secured by some great shooting from Cheryl and rebounds from Davina. Unknown to both teams Paulton fought back and closed the 5 goal lead to push ahead to win 53 – 51 much to the delight of Paulton’s supporters.  Through great team work and determination Paulton had managed to score 19 goals in one quarter making it the highest scoring quarter of the match and secured them 5 vital league points!

The team would like to thank all of their reserves and supporters for cheering them on and Jane for umpiring.

Paulton Rovers’ Junior Netball Club travelled to Wells Blue School on the 20^th March for the annual end of season tournament.  The Club took two squads, one U14 and one U11 with both teams performing well with fantastic results.

Paulton’s U14s started the morning against a strong Bridgwater1 side.  With the girls anticipating a tough match they decided to play at a steady pace and focus just on their passing.  This decision paid dividends with the team pressurising Bridgwater’s defence to score 4 goals against their 5.  Fantastic movement across the court from Elena GD, Alice WA and Ruby C ensured that the team kept up with Bridgwater matching them goal for goal, much to the delight of the spectators and players.

On a high from their first match the team of 7 then realised their winning potential and pulled together, all focusing on getting in front of their defenders and attacking into space.  This paid off as Megan GS and Lucie GA scored some fantastic goals and cemented their working partnership with Elena GD and Dolly GK working hard in defence, turning over valuable rebounds to secure two great wins against Purnell, winning 0-6 and Bridgwater 2nds 0-7.

The team’s forth match was against an impressive looking Yeovil who didn’t disappoint.  The first half ended with Paulton trailing 4 – 1 and feeling defeated, however after a good half time the girls headed back on to court and focused on getting in front of their players, upping their work rate and concentration to pull back the score to 6 – 4.  A loss, but a valuable turning point for the players to understand that you play to the final whistle with a positive attitude.

After lunch the girls faced Wells and Sydenham.  The defence once again worked hard with both Karla WD and Dolly GK making some fantastic interceptions taking the ball at full flight, much to the delight of the spectators.  Ruby and Alice kept up their work rate feeding the circle with accurate passing and great attacking vision to ensure that the team secured two more wins.

Finally the girls faced Chilcompton in a tense match with both teams wanting to win to finish off a great day.  Once again Paulton played with great accuracy, with Lucie GA converting Chilcompton’s defensive errors into goals and Megan GS making great drives to create space in the circle.  Elena GD, Dolly GK and Karla WD continued to work well creating a tight defensive unit allowing Chilcompton to score only 4 goals.  As the final whistle went Paulton were ahead 8 – 4 much to the delight of their spectators and coaches.

All of the girls played outstanding netball and gelled together as a strong team proving that training had paid off.  Elena was voted Players Player.  The coaches would like to thank all the parents for their support this season and to Katrina for umpiring.  If you are interested in playing netball (U11 – U16 or senior) then please contact Victoria 07735507963 or contact us here.

Paulton B had a very early start on Saturday as they headed to a foggy Wells. The game started and the fog cleared with the sun shining through. Paulton took a a little time to settle into the game with Canons taking an early lead in the 1^st quarter thanks to the experience of their GS. However injury struck the Canons team and Paulton capitalised pushing the ball down to their shooters in quick succession. The first quarter ended 8-8.

After a quick pep talk Paulton came back with confidence with Liz and Jade working well together to feed the shooters. Some good centre court play allowed Paulton to take the lead despite the increasing heat, 15-20.

The third quarter started well for Paulton with Shelley making some brilliant interceptions at WD and passing well to her supporting players.  The new defensive teaming of Kim and Laura B worked well, with them stopping the Canons shooters from getting a chance on goal. Quarter ended with Paulton stil ahead 21-32.

The final quarter saw Canons come out fighting, however some quick turn overs in the centre court allowed Darby and Laura M to hit their targets time and time again. This new attack worked well together communicating and moving well confusing the Canons defensive players and causing them to make mistakes. Paulton took a well deserved victory 30-45.

Thanks to Tanya, Dave and Victoria for their support and Helen for umpiring!

Player of the Match: Darby (GS)

Paulton Rovers’ Junior Netball Club travelled to Wells Blue School on the 20th March for the annual end of season tournament. The Club took two squads, one U14 and one U11 with both teams performing well with fantastic results.

Paulton’s U14s started the morning against a strong Bridgwater1 side. With the girls anticipating a tough match they decided to play at a steady pace and focus just on their passing. This decision paid dividends with the team pressurising Bridgwater’s defence to score 4 goals against their 5. Fantastic movement across the court from Elena GD, Alice WA and Ruby C ensured that the team kept up with Bridgwater matching them goal for goal, much to the delight of the spectators and players.

On a high from their first match the team of 7 then realised their winning potential and pulled together, all focusing on getting in front of their defenders and attacking into space. This paid off as Megan GS and Lucie GA scored some fantastic goals and cemented their working partnership with Elena GD and Dolly GK working hard in defence, turning over valuable rebounds to secure two great wins against Purnell, winning 0-6 and Bridgwater 2 0-7.

The team’s forth match was against an impressive looking Yeovil who didn’t disappoint. The first half ended with Paulton trailing 4 – 1 and feeling defeated, however after a good half time talk the girls headed back on to court and focused on getting in front of their players, upping their work rate and concentration to pull back the score to 6 – 4. A loss, but a valuable turning point for the players to understand that you play to the final whistle with a positive attitude.

After lunch the girls faced Wells and Sydenham. The defence once again worked hard with both Karla WD and Dolly GK making some fantastic interceptions taking the ball at full flight, much to the delight of the spectators. Ruby and Alice kept up their work rate feeding the circle with accurate passing and great attacking vision to ensure that the team secured two more wins.

Finally the girls faced Chilcompton in a tense match with both teams wanting to win to finish off a great day. Once again Paulton played with great accuracy, with Lucie GA converting Chilcompton’s defensive errors into goals and Megan GS making great drives to create space in the circle. Elena GD, Dolly GK and Karla WD continued to work well creating a tight defensive unit allowing Chilcompton to score only 4 goals. As the final whistle went Paulton were ahead 8 – 4 much to the delight of their spectators and coaches.

 All of the girls played outstanding netball and gelled together as a strong team proving that training had paid off. Elena was voted Players Player.

The coaches would like to thank all the parents for their support this season and to Katrina for umpiring.

If you are interested in playing netball (U11 – U16 or senior) then please contact Victoria 07735507963 or use our contact us page!

For Paulton this was going to be an emotional game being the first game played after their coach Stu passed away. All players and supporters took part in a minutes silence before the starting whistle to remember Stu and his coaching words of wisdom. He will be sorely missed by all who he met and with this in mind Paulton B were determined to make him proud and get a win!

The game started well with quick turn overs and great passing from centre court up to the shooters circle. Liz and Jade worked well feeding the ball into the Paulton shooters who were once again on fire. The Mercury defence struggled against the well gelled attack. The quarter ended 18-6.

After a quick pep talk from the supporters Paulton took to the court confident that they could maintain their lead. With some great interceptions by Laura at GK the Mercury shooters found it hard to find the net. Thanks to Laura’s interceptions the ball was quickly sent back up court by Shelley and Kim to the waiting shooters. Paulton maintained a comfortable lead 38-13

Mercury came out fighting in the 3^rd quarter wanting to pull back some goals. However Paulton were ready for them and once again continued to work well as a team. Side line set pieces worked well to send the ball straight into Darby and Kristie in the shooting circle, both ladies were on target and quickly had the score increasing. Paulton finished the quarter 48-20.

The final quarter once again saw the young mercury team come out all guns blazing using their fitness to their advantage, however with the injection of Zoe at WD Paulton maintained their pace and continued to work well. Passing and moving well onto the ball allowing the game to become a match that Stu would have loved to watch. Paulton won the game with a score of 61-27 their best of the season!

Thank you to all the supporters who braved the chill to cheer us on!

Player of the match: Kristie (GS)

U11’s

On Sunday, Paulton under 11s squad travelled to Wells Blue School for their very first tournament.  All the girls displayed nerves yet started the day with smiles on their faces and the aim to enjoy the experience of the day.

Paulton started the tournament with a match against Bridgwater.  It was evident in size and experience that it was a tough game.  All the team settled into various positions and worked very hard to keep Bridgwater to a very respectable 9-0 loss.

The second game against Sydenham began with further squad rotations and Paulton taking more time with their passing and movement.  Their careful passing and shooting led them to a 4-1 win!

With a boost of confidence from the last win and more squad rotations, Paulton started the game against Purnells very well.  Again, with good attacking and defence, Paulton secured a deserved win of 4-2.

A huge well done to all the squad for two wins out of three at their first tournament. You made everyone at Paulton Rovers Netball Club very proud.  The squad included Grace, Rebecca, Ellie, Macey, Cerys, Lori, Shannon, Lucy and Megan. 

Player of the tournament went to Lori- well done!

Thank you to Cheryl and Helen for umpiring, and to all the parents for their support.

U14′s

On Sunday Paulton Rovers U14 travelled to Wells Blue School – from the start the girls felt they were up against tough competition and knew that each game would be a battle. Due to illness, injury and holidays only 7 girls could make it meaning that they would all have to play every game.

First up were Wells, this was a nervous game with some bad passing decisions proving pivotal enabling Wells to win the game.

After a short break Paulton took to the courts to play Tor. With better passing in centre court they gave Tor a good game that could have gone either way, unfortunately for Paulton Tor took the lead in the second half and held on to remain victorious.

With no break this time the Paulton 7 remained on court to play Sydenham, despite tired limbs Paulton took an early lead that gave them the boost they needed. The girls maintained their lead trough tot the second half and thanks to some good movement up court they won the game.

The final game was against Purnells, this is always a tough and evenly fought game. Despite having beaten Purnells the previous weekend, in a friendly, the tired Paulton girls couldn’t quite grab a win in their final game.

All the girls played well with Player of the tournament going to Elena and most improved going to Alice. Both girls showed great skill in interceptions, movement with some brilliant passing.

Thanks to all the parents who helped boost spirits on a very gloomy Sunday in Wells!

Paulton Rovers’ Juniors took to the court on Sunday 20^th February to play their first ever full hour match against Purnells’ U14s 1^st Team.  With a squad of 9, Paulton warmed up well and took to the court with determination to play with focus.  Both teams started well with accurate passing and movement, creating a balanced first quarter which ended 7 – 6 to Paulton.  

 After a positive team talk and a squad change with Jade replacing Olivia at GK, Megan switching with Evie at WD and Olivia moving to WA swapping with Alice, the girls returned to the court with the desire to build on their small lead by slowing down the pace and moving into space.  The second quarter also saw Lucie (GS) and Darby (GA) find their feet, working well together to balance the circle and score some fantastic goals, expertly feed by Ruby (C) and Olivia.  The defence also worked hard, bringing the ball up the court from the back line with precision movement and control, allowing the team to capitalise on Meg’s (WD) interceptions and Purnells’ rebounds, pulling the team forward to finish 17 – 12 at half time.

 The third quarter saw Paulton change again with Ruby switching with Evie at C and Alice with Megan at WD.  The girls returned to the court to focus again on their court spacing and to capitalise on their lead, using different centre passes and long balls into the shooters.  However Purnells came out fighting disrupting Paulton’s flow and managing to gain possession of the ball more frequently.  Despite this Zoe and Jade defended the circle hard making some great interceptions to ensure that Purnells could only score 4 goals, with Lucie and Darby scoring at every opportunity to insure that the team stayed in front to finish 24 – 15.

 Finally the team prepared themselves for the final quarter knowing that Purnells would come out fighting, with our fitness declining the fresh legs of Ruby (C) and Meagn (WD) helped Paulton to remain in control of the game.  With the team working hard to use all of the court and to keep their passing accurate the girls were able to match Purnell goal for goal as they fought back.  Some excellent feeding from Olivia and support from the defence ensured that Paulton kept pushing forward to win 33 – 23, much to the delight of the team and their supporters. 

Both teams played some fantastic netball and proved that they are now ready to move up to hour long matches.  Paulton would like to wish Purnells the best of luck when they enter the U14 Regional Tournament in March and look forward to playing them again soon.  The team would also like to thank everyone who came to support them.

Players voted by Purnell:  Ruby and Zoe

Player’s player:  Lucie

 If you are aged 9 – 16 and looking to play netball, please contact Victoria on 07735507963 or contact us via email

The first quarter started with Paulton feeling confident, despite expecting a tough match against top of the league Hovelands.  Both teams competed for every ball, turning over any mistakes. Some excellent play from the centre court from Deb, Vanessa and Hayley ensured that Paulton kept up with the intense pace, and the quarter ended 8-14.

With a promising first quarter, Char and Victoria snatched vital rebounds and made some valuable interceptions, and with the support of the centre court converted theses into goals with fantastic shooting from Cheryl and Vina.  Unfortunately this wasn’t enough as Hovelands pulled away 23-31.

The third quarter showed Paulton at their best. The defence dedicating themselves to every ball, and excellent feeding into the circle from the attack, enabled Paulton to close the gap to just 10 goals behind, 39-49.

The final quarter saw Paulton keeping their heads up while playing their own game. The team pulled together as a strong unit and kept up with their impressive play, dedicating every movement on the court to closing the gap.  The final score was 49-67 to Hovelands, after holding on to their lead.  However Paulton played an admirable game, which was not reflected in the result.

A well-deserved player of the match went to Cheryl, but this was an outstanding team performance.