Blaze injury tally costs them in loss to Hawks

Unfortunately, for the Blaze the rising injury tally from recent weeks has taken a toll on the team's performance.

The side put together a gusty and gritty performance, but it was not enough to topple the Hawks, losing 56-63.

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The Blaze came out a bit flustered by the Hawks attack, turning the ball over on several occasions and in general just looking a bit out of sorts.

Hawks GA and current Swift player Sophie Fawns, caused havoc in both defence and attack, and with a few strong Blaze possessions at the end, they found themselves trailing the Hawks 10-20.

Blaze went goal for goal in the second quarter, with Chelsea Bolton coming in at WA to provide fresh legs in the attack end.

A few passing errors in the Blaze attack end saw the Hawks push the lead out to 16 in the quarter, as the Blaze found themselves down 22-38 heading into the half.

The Blaze came out of halftime looking like a brand new team.

They secured the first few goals in thanks to strong defence and Mallon (GA) and Evans (WA) working well with Kristina Brice (GS) and Maddy Eaton (C) in the attack to bring the margin back to 11.

A couple of footwork calls and unforced errors from the Hawks helped the Blaze pin back the score to 39-47 at the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter was a tight one, with some missed shots and turnovers from the Hawks, allowing the Blaze to cut the lead to just five as they made the comeback push.

Despite the tight contest, the Blaze couldn't quite catch up in the end with the Hawks taking the win 56-63.

The U23 Blaze continued their run of season dominance with another fantastic performance on route to a 50-42 victory against the Sparks as they hold down first place in the conference.

The Blaze fuelled by the play of C Kiah Yealland, WA Clare McCrohon, GA Mia Evans and GS Papi Alaalatoa secured a strong 28-17 lead heading into halftime.

The Sparks came out strong in the third, forcing several Blaze turnovers and bringing the deficit to eight.

However, new legs from C Jade Dawson, WD Gabby Eatpm amd GS Emma Mateo helped the Blaze to steady again and push the lead back out to 12, the score sitting at 41-29.

In the final quarter, both teams went goal for goal with GD Anastasia Afoa working hard with Mateo, Bowden and Dawson to keep the Sparks attack at bay.

Although the Sparks continued to fight back, they couldn't catch the Blaze who finished with an eight goal win, 50-42.