York R.I. Netball Club are like a – very lovely – three-headed monster. You cut off one head, and another just grows back in its place. After an epic victory over R.I. Invaders in the previous week, and success against R.I. Raiders the week before, we might have been forgiven for thinking the R.I. beast had been bested once and for all. But as we returned to Millthorpe on a freezing November evening, we found ourselves facing the familiar orange-and-blue stripes of a well-established foe. We came out confident with spirits high, trusting to our squad of nine for a high-energy assault.

It was a punchy start for Rogues, with hard balls into the circle and spot-on shooting racking up the points from the first whistle. Rustlers responded in kind, maintaining a level score line deep into the first quarter. A flurry of shots and some timely interceptions from the defenders saw Rustlers pull ahead for a modest lead, despite the uncomfortable feeling shared by all that play hadn’t really gelled. We left the court bemused but not concerned, and returned ready with new strategies, a rotated line-up of players, and the renewed ambition to play our own game.

We could talk the talk, but could we walk the walk? Yes. No. Sort of. Individually, we improved. The defenders got closer to R.I.’s predictable overhead balls into the circles. The centre court players chose better spaces and made more definite movements, while the shooters found new ways to move around their opponents. But somehow, still, something wasn’t clicking. We found ourselves running in each other’s spaces and miss-timing passes – hesitating at times, and at others flinging wild balls straight into the hands of their defenders. We could walk the walk, but somehow we couldn’t dance the dance. We left the court with a diminished lead and a mounting sense of frustration, not sure what to suggest for the next quarter.

The third quarter brought with it another level of intensity – and even more disappointment. It seemed the more energy we put in, the more chaotic we became, like supercharged particles crashing into each other in a confined space. Individually, there were moments of brilliance – a death-defying interception from Julia, a beautiful shot from the circle edge from Calista, a delicious outside-arm interception from Vix – but they were surrounded on all sides by bouts of scrappy, struggling play. Like rubies in a bowl of iron fillings. What was going on? We left court with our lead reduced to only three goals.

Alice had the unenviable task of deciding the final line-up for the last quarter. Nine players means more chance to rest, but also a loss of consistency, and perhaps ultimately that was part of our struggle: we never got comfortable. Rogues had their faults – their play was sometimes formulaic, relying too heavily on overhead balls – but they worked so well together that they were more often than not successful. At our best, our play was slicker, faster and more inventive – but we didn’t seem able to maintain it for any length of time.

Yvonne and I watched from the sideline for the final quarter, probably leaving a trail of bitten nails as we looked on for an unbearably tense fifteen minutes. Every player came out fighting, from the two Coateses closing off the goal hoop like a pair of human shields, to breakneck play in both directions from the centre court players, to some exquisite shots from the shooters despite the ever-increasing pressure. But Rogues seemed galvanised by the pressure, and, little-by-little, they climbed up to level the score. Rustlers held them off for what felt like an eternity – but at last R.I. sliced through, ending the game two shots ahead at the final whistle.
And so it was. Rustlers’ first loss of the season: 38-36.

It was hard to be cheerful as we headed home through the gloom. However in retrospect, there was plenty to celebrate: we had fought and narrowly lost a very competitive game, with fantastic individual performances all round. Reflecting the somewhat disjointed nature of the game, player of the match went four ways, split between Beth, Jenn, Vicky B and Alice. Rustlers will be back fighting for another victory next week, this time spurred on by our first taste of point-by-point pressure.

If only we lived in a world where the worst thing to happen all week was a narrow defeat by a well-deserving opponent, in a tense but ultimately life-affirming game of netball...