JERSEY displayed the “power of youth” during a blockbuster weekend of inter-insular dominance.
A familiar story unfolded over the course of two days at Beau Sejour, which culminated with a clinical performance by the senior A side as they won 65-29.
Jersey’s only defeat came in a feisty over-30s clash, although they had been given a scare at times in the B clash.
“I think, for me, the strapline for this whole inter-insular is just the power of our youth,” said Jersey head coach Serena Kersten.
“We had a couple of 14- and 15-year-olds representing really strongly at our Open B level
“From my perspective as a coach, it’s really exciting to know that we’ve got players who can come in, especially in that B game. To have been under pressure early on and to be able to bring on a group of youngsters with such skill and a level headedness and a maturity about their game, it’s great for the future of Jersey netball.”
In the senior A game, Jersey came out hard, their defensive effort cutting off Guernsey’s supply line to the shooters, while they made hay at the other end of the court.
It sucked the air out of a strong partisan crowd almost instantly.
The runaway Caesareans were 14 points to the good before the greens registered their first point, as the opening quarter concluded at 17-3 in favour of the visitors.
For Jersey it was a case of sticking to their processes and not getting distracted by the nature of the fixture.
For Guernsey, they had to regroup, adapting so they could feed the final third and shift the focus back to the pre-match targets of holding their rivals to ten points in each quarter.
The hosts then enjoyed their best quarter of the match, trailing 32-14 at the halfway point.
As the game progressed and legs grew weary, both Kersten and Guernsey’s Sally Carns turned to the bench to instruct some of their younger members to enter the fray
The third quarter saw Jersey’s gap grow 46-22, before a fourth quarter blitz piled the points on as fitness levels told and the Caesareans comprehensively beat their neighbours 65-29 in the headline match of the weekend.
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 star goal-shooter Leah Griffin, returning from a long-term injury.
“Getting out in front early is important when you’re away from home in terms of taking the crowd out of things,” added the head coach.
“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.”
For Guernsey, holding Jersey to a 36-point gap is a perceptible improvement in their attempt to bridge the colossal divide between the sides.
In the clash last year, Jersey came away with a 74-27 victory and, in the November inter-island Games, they hammered Guernsey 79-28.
“I said beforehand that we had a list of targets,” said Guernsey’s Carns.
“Other than the first quarter of the senior A game, they absolutely nailed those targets.”
Jersey’s Becca Forrest took the player-of-the-match award with a trademark secure performance at goalkeeper.
Prior to the main event, the noise levels upped a few decibels, in the wake of Guernsey’s lone success from the two days of action at Beau Sejour.
In a fiercely competitive encounter, they won the O30s 58-50.
Jersey took the Open 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 Caesarean 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.
The hosts raced out to an early 5-1 lead, and still held that four-goal cushion after ten minutes, but Jersey came back and ended the opening quarter 11-10 to the good.
The visitors again pulled away to lead 26-20 at half time, and stretched away again in a decisive third quarter to lead 38-28.
It was an advantage the reds would not relinquish.
Earlier on day one, Jersey had sealed the U11s 22-3, the U14s 41-22 and the U12s 30-10.
Jersey
U11: Bea Williams, Hannah Munro, Alice Larnder, Millie Painter, Bella Houguez, Theadora Irvine, Kiki Gomez, Isabella Harvey, Ruby Noon, Bobbi Billington. Coaches: Rena Nelson, Ann-Marie Pereira & Paige Mason
U12: Priseis Grenyer (c), Libby Parris, Kacey O’Connor, Amelia Gaudin, Winnie Young, Hâf Rasmussen, Milli Renouf, Amelia Smyth, Scarlett Murphy, Ellie Herbet. Coaches: Lauren Mills & Emily Le Gros
U14: Bethannie Wood, Paloma Farina-Richings, Lexi Edward, Megan Jerrard, Scarlett Le Fustec, Zoé Morales, Lola Reynolds, Rosie Holbourn, Isla Cronin, Mae Griffiths. Coaches: Paige Mason, Felicity MacDougall & Talia Bavington
U16: Isabella Lofthouse (c), Emily Dove, Grace Thomson, Lara Spary, Poppy Hughes, Lara Vieira, Scarlett Crow, Molly Mckeon, Summer Watkins, Florence Allo. Coaches: Lauren Mills & Ella Vieira.
U19: Emily Le Gros, Grace Thomson, Lara Spary, Thalia Fletcher, Lara Vieira, Isabella Lofthouse, Taylor-Mai Dickson, Talia Bavington, Daisy Dunn, Layla Dos Santos, Summer Watkins. Coaches: Serena Kersten, Lauren Mills & Paige Mason
O30: Emily Green, Sophie Sowney, Rena Nelson, Megan Hamilton, Calli Bushell, Harriet Simon, Shannon Carr, Jenna Meredith, Chiara De Guelle, Georgia Silcock, Josie Ewing. Coaches: Linda Andrews & Ella Vieira.
Open B: Nicole Goddard (c), Grace Thomson, Madison Fitzgerald-Wilkins, Emily Le Gros, Thalia
Fletcher, Mollie Luce, Isabella Lofthouse, Layla Dos Santos, Kat Le Riche, Katie Doyle. Coach: Serena Kersten.
Open A: Rosie Tonner (c), Leah Griffin, Emily Le Gros, Lynsey Pitman, Madison Fitzgerald-Wilkins,
Antonia Chaytor, Taylor-Mai Dickson, Nicole Goddard, Rebecca Forrest, Kat Le Riche, Layla Dos Santos. Coach: Serena Kersten.
