Thunder slay Dragons in bruising duel

KERRY ALMOND

NETBALL: NORTHERN Thunder made it five wins on the bounce in the Fiat Netball Superleague with a 50-44 defeat of hosts Celtic Dragons.

Thunder were slow to start in this bruising encounter, with the home side building an early 6-1 lead.

But when Kerry Almond got to grips with Celtic’s giant shooter Lotysha Cato, combined with the excellent play of goal attack Charlotte Beenham, the visitors took command.

Thunder won the first quarter 12-8, before stretching their advantage to 20-13 in the second.

But an ankle injury to Jade Clarke — she was able to continue after treatment — halted Thunder’s flow as the Dragons cut the deficit to 25-21 at the mid-way point.

For the third quarter, Thunder brought on Rachel Henry for Kiwi Jess Langman at wing attack.

The 15-minute spell ended all square with Thunder maintaining their four-goal cushion.

The visitors did go 10 goals up at one stage, only for the Dragons to stage a spirited fightback. This was largely due to the impressive Cato, who was unplayable at times.

Thunder surged six clear in the early stages of the final quarter, and held the gap to continue their splendid start to the season.