19 November 2007 By Graham Croker
Sydney University commerce student Susan Pratley had two things to celebrate on Saturday evening – a world championship and a University Blue.
At the same time she was taking the court in the final minutes of the World Championship final against New Zealand in Auckland, Pratley’s name was being read out at the annual Sydney University Blues dinner in the Great Hall.
Pratley shot 5-9 in the closing stages of the final as Australia held on to win a very physical contest 42-38.
The Sydney University Sports Scholarship holder had plenty of involvement during the pool rounds and finals after missing the first game against Samoa which Australia won 82-26.
She suited up for the second pool match and shot 42-49 in the 78-34 win over Trinidad and Tobago.
Australia’s dominance of Pool B continued with a 93-20 win over Scotland, with Pratley coming off the bench to shoot 11-12.
She came off the bench again in the quarter-final against the Cook Islands, shooting 21-23 in the 90-22 win.
Pratley was rested in Australia’s 51-33 semi-final win over England, with Catherine Cox (32-48) and Sharable McMahon (19-26) dominating the scoring.
Cox again led the Australian scoring in the final, shooting 27-38. But coach Norma Plummer made a crucial call when she replaced McMahon (7-10) with Pratley with five minutes on the clock. She repaid the coach’s faith by shooting 5-9 as the Australians reclaimed the title from New Zealand. It was Australia’s ninth title since the inception of the World Netball Championships in 1963.
As the Netball Australia report says, the low-scoring match kept the 7000-strong crowd glued to their seats, thanks to the non-stop intensity and the battling qualities of the two great rivals, who once again presented one of their showcase epics. “Time and again New Zealand fought back from adversity as Australia threatened to take off,” the report says.
“Magnificent and tenacious defence by captain Liz Ellis, Mo’onia Gerrard, Selina Gilsenan and Natalie von Bertouch gave Australia a slight edge throughout, but the New Zealanders showed an abundance of fighting spirit.
“New Zealand fought back valiantly on several occasions during the second half, but Australia’s great defensive wall meant they continued to live off scraps. Australia enjoyed quarter leads of 13-10, 27-20 and 35-32.
“Rugged defensive efforts were the feature of the game as both sets of shooters came under extreme pressure and missed easy shots.
“New Zealand managed to grab two late rebounds thanks to Casey Williams and Sheryl Scanlan but lost the opportunity to equalise as the Australian defence snuffed out the last gasp chance from the New Zealanders. Australia held their nerve in a gripping final few minutes as New Zealand fell just short of raining on their party with a late flurry.”
Australia 42 (Catherine Cox 27, Sharelle McMahon 7, Susan Pratley (SU) 5, Natalie Medhurst 3) d New Zealand 38 (Irene van Dyk 26, Jodi Te Huna 12) at Trusts Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand.