DENNINGTON has set up the biggest game of the season with a 38-30 win over Panmure on Saturday.
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The Dogs came back from a slow start on their home court to dominate the last three quarters and consolidate second place on the ladder.
Next Sunday they travel to the Davidson Oval courts to take on an undefeated Old Collegians line-up.
A win over the reigning premiers would lift the Dogs to the top of the ladder.
They will bring strong form into the game after disposing of the Bulldogs in a game that changed dramatically after quarter-time.
The first quarter belonged to Panmure as it raced to a 14-5 lead.
Dennington coach Sue Fleming then pulled off some important positional moves, bringing herself off the bench and into the goal keeper role.
Lana Keane moved from goal keeper to goal shooter, forming a potent double act with goal attack Katie Burt.
The move paid instant dividends, with the Dogs in front 17-16 by half-time. That extended to 28-20 by three-quarter-time.
The Dogs finished the job in the last quarter, with Burt shooting a game-high 24 goals and Marli Boyd starring in the middle.
Fleming said the moves at quarter-time had helped give her team an advantage.
“The main thing with having that set-up is it gave us a height factor, which made it hard to defend against,” Fleming said.
“I think after quarter-time our defensive pressure all the way down the court picked up, which turned things around.
“Our warm-up was also not as good as it could have been so I think that was a factor we will look to get on top next week.
“We are looking forward to playing Old Collegians. It will be a hard-fought game and this win today will give us some good momentum going into it.”
For Panmure, the loss dropped it from third to fourth and a game behind Dennington.
Panmure coach Megan Titmus said it was disappointing her team’s bright start could not be capitalised on.
“It was a great first quarter. Everything we have been working on at training was working but after that we lost a bit of focus. It was a very physical game today,” Titmus said.
“We have had a different team each week so we are just not settled and that has meant we haven’t played four full quarters.
“We will need to find some consistency because the season is moving along pretty quickly and we can’t afford to drop too many games.”