TNL: Round seven wins for Northern Hawks and Cavaliers in road trip weekend

The Launceston side were the only unbeaten side left heading into the final match of their road trip double header with third-place Cripps eyeing a scalp after impressive performances in recent weeks.

Cripps provided a willing opponent for the Hawks as the sides traded goals throughout the opening term. The ball went end-to-end at stages as both sets of attackers enjoyed some good delivery into the circle. Cripps took a slender one-point lead into the first break and arguably could have had more if not for the defensive work of Lydia and Tessa Coote on the defensive end.

The second term was reminiscent of the opening stanza as the two teams proved hard to separate as the momentum ebbed and flowed across the duration of play.

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Lynette Childs and Monique Dufty proved an effective pairing in the Hawks' defensive circle with their positioning making it hard for the Cripps' attackers. Courtney Treloar was introduced to the Hawks' attacking circle and found her shooting range quickly with some quick points for last year's grand finalists.

Despite a late charge from the Hawks after the midway point of the term, it was Cripps who carried the lead into the third term.

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It seemed like Cripps was up for the challenge as they had their best quarter of the game in the third term to stretch the lead.

Cripps started the brighter of the two sides with only some late turnovers caused by Hawks' vice-captain Gemma Poke avoiding a larger lead for the third-placed side.

Staring down the barrel of their first defeat of the season with a four-point deficit heading into the last term, the Hawks needed to dig deep to maintain their unbeaten mantle.

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It was the usual suspects which stood up for the Hawks as Ash Mawer and Danni Pickett combined well in attack while Poke continued to be a thorn in Cripps' side with multiple turnovers on the defensive end. It went down to the final seconds but the Hawks emerged with their sixth win of the campaign.

The Hawks' under-19s battled hard against Cripps but the latter proved too strong with a 45-33 win to halt a perfect weekend for the Launceston side.

The Cavaliers secured a perfect weekend across both formats with hard-fought wins to ensure they would head back to Launceston with maximum points.

After accounting for Karana on Saturday, the Cavs backed up the result with a strong win over Kingston 55-34.

Despite two games in as many days, the Cavs were at full throttle from the opening pass as they displayed the defensive pressure which has been the hallmark of their campaign.

The reigning premiers led at every change on the way to claiming victory, their fifth of the season. The Cavs' under-19s also beat Kingston 56-30.

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