Shortland and kotara clash goes down to the wire

Kotara's Laura Bailey.

Shortland may have been the victors in their clash with Kotara on Thursday evening, but the two set margin was only confirmed late on by the Scotchies.
It was a surging game for the Kings, who have been searching for wins after collecting just two in their opening six, but Shortland kept in control to bounce back from their defeat last round with a tight 10-8 victory.
Kotara opened well in the match, taking an early lead and keeping the Scotchies from finding their feet in the opening half, but the Kings couldn't stay ahead for the full 60 minutes.
The defeat leaves Kotara stuck in sixth place after the opening seven weeks, despite an uptick of form in recent weeks - the Kings stayed within three sets of second placed Waratah a fortnight ago, and have now pushed Shortland (currently in fourth) to the end.

Shortland kept just ahead of Kotara after a late-game surge, beating them by just two sets.

Elsewhere at Oakdale Arena, Waratah made short work of Cooks Hill as they opened their 13-4 victory with eight straight set wins.
The Cookers brought the match back into a stalemate in the second half, bagging four sets to the Cobras' five, but the opening streak for the 'Tahs proved too much of a mountain for the seventh placed squad to overcome.
In a reverse of that outcome, Hamilton started slow against Bar Beach, leading by just a single set at the half-time break, 4-3, before taking control of the fixture in the second half with an eight-to-one record to claim their 12-4 win.
Finally, Belmont remained right behind the Cobras and the Stags in third place with an 11-6 win over Raymond Terrace, leaving the Raccoons stuck four points outside of the top four.​

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This week's results also set up a blockbuster showdown next round between Hamilton and Waratah, both of whom have lost just a single game in Season 11.
The 'Tahs proved the dominant side when the two clubs clashed in the opening round of the season, taking out a narrow 7-6 victory over the defending champions, but since then the Stags have won six on the bounce and scored an average of 10.1 sets per outing.
Waratah also on a similar run of form - after they fell to Belmont in the second week of the season they recovered to win five straight, bagging 10.8 set wins per victory.
One thing is for sure in the clash - the oldest rivalry in the Newcastle Dodgeball League never fails to disappoint, and with a possible minor premiership on the line if both teams can keep form over the second half of the season, this is not a clash to be missed.

Waratah's Molly Walker has been in shining form in recent weeks, and will be a key factor in the table-topping clash in Round 8.

Round 8 will also be the NDL's Women in Dodge Round.