SWNFL 2023: Inadvertent player omission from score-sheet costs Busselton 70-56 win over Carey Park

As the South West Netball Football League finals series begins to take shape, an administrative error has cost the Busselton Magpies what could have been a valuable win. As the Magpies took the court for their round 19 match against Carey Park at the South West Sports Centre on Saturday, it took just 15 seconds for the scoring officials to notice something was amiss. It became clear in a freak administrative oversight, mid-courter Daisy De Morton had been inadvertently omitted from the team list, which had already been signed off by the umpires during the warm-up period, prior to her taking the court in centre. Although the oversight ultimately resulted in the match officially being awarded a forfeit win for Carey Park, the match was still played out. While the quick substitution seemed to throw Busselton off their game to start, both the Magpies and the Panthers matched each other goal for goal during the opening quarter. As goals via Ebony Beresford and Emily Brough helped Carey Park start to pull away, Busselton fought back late to take the lead 17-16 at quarter-time. The contest continued to pick up pace during the second quarter, with Busselton capitalising on fast driving by Isabel Legros to start pulling away with goals via Lisa Millman and Holly-Jo Delaney. As Carey Park fought hard to stay in the contest with strong defence from Lilah Edmonds and Grace MacArthur, Busselton capitalised on rebounds at both ends of the court to lead 38-30 at half-time. While Janelle Pagan seemed to be an unstoppable force in defence for Busselton, Carey Park attempted to stage a comeback with Emily Heslewood managing a strong deflection to try to stop Busselton’s momentum. As Gemma Stewart, Alexandra MacArthur and Taylor Gray helped drive the ball to the Panthers’ shooters to chip away at the margin, Busselton held on to lead 50-47 at the final change. The final quarter saw the contest get physical as both sides amped up the defensive pressure and contested for the ball. However, quick ball movement and accurate shots on goal saw Busselton pull away to win 70-56 even though the victory would not be officially recognised. Bunbury have overtaken Busselton for third place on the ladder after holding off Donnybrook Blackwood 52-49 in an exciting contest at the Donnybrook Recreation Centre. Meanwhile, Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault have continued their red-hot form on the back of ending Eaton’s undefeated streak, this time holding off South Bunbury 52-46 at the South West Sports Centre.