KOROIT players, coaches and fans were left "devastated" after goalie Rachel Dobson went down with a serious injury in the Saints' 11-goal victory over Terang Mortlake.
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Saints coach Stacey O'Sullivan confirmed the 23-year-old, who is in her final year of a nursing degree, ruptured her achilles midway through the third term of Saturday's 51-40 victory.
"She did it by herself when she went to pass and drive and it went and it was in the classic way to do it. I knew it, the crowd knew and we were all very devastated for Rachel," she said.
"She worked hard last year to get back into senior side and had some setbacks this season so we were all devastated that this has now happened to her."
Despite losing one of her players to a season-ending injury, O'Sullivan was pleased with how her side played the match.
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She was also impressed with the improvement of Terang Mortlake.
"I was happy with how we played and how we were able to take control of the game," she said.
"Terang impressed me with how they are coming along. Lisa (Arundell) is doing a good job with the young girls and they play good netball and they played another good game.
"They are versatile, which is great to see,. 'Missy' (Melissa Burt) coming in and Aimee Moloney coming back has helped that.
"They are young and playing well as a team and they are a threat every single time they play and can take it up to anyone."
O'Sullivan again praised the efforts of her midcourt stars in Belle Baker, who was named best on court, captain Emily-Rose Finnigan, Zahli Adams, Bridget Roache and Kasey Owen.
"We've been concentrating on that at training and we are starting to play well," the first-year mentor said.
Koroit holds onto third spot on the ladder, while Terang Mortlake jumps into the top five after results elsewhere in the league went in its favour.
Meanwhile, Warrnambool's victory over Portland has caused a gap to open up in the race for the top five with nine games remaining in the season.
The 62-48 victory over the Tigers on Saturday pushed the Blues eight points clear of Terang Mortlake, who jumped into fifth placed after losing to Koroit.
The Bloods leap-frogged Camperdown, who were beaten by the ladder leaders Cobden, to reclaim their place in the top five.
The Magpies' 40-52 defeat to the premiership favourites and the Bloods' 40-51 loss at the hands of the reigning champions was their fifth losses of the season.
South Warrnambool's defeat to North Warrnambool Eagles also meant it dropped eight points behind of Warrnambool.
A win over Hamilton Kangaroos has opened the door for eighth-placed Port Fairy to make a late assault for the last spot in the finals.
The 46-27 victory over the Kangaroos, who are in second last, was exactly what the Seagulls needed after six consecutive defeats.
Cobden remains two wins in front of second-placed North Warrnambool Eagles and the third-ranked Saints.
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Sean Hardeman
I'm a sports journalist for the Warrnambool Standard who covers a number of different sports across the south-west of Victoria. I enjoy watching cycling, surfing, football, soccer and Formula 1.
I'm a sports journalist for the Warrnambool Standard who covers a number of different sports across the south-west of Victoria. I enjoy watching cycling, surfing, football, soccer and Formula 1.
