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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
National
Renee Valentine

Game-changer Jemma House likely to prove headache for Warners Bay in NPLW NNSW GF

Newcastle Olympic's Jemma House. Picture by Marina Neil

Warners Bay coach Craig Atkins has seen first-hand the damage Jemma House can cause.

That is why he will be instructing his defence to keep a watchful eye on the Newcastle Olympic striker in the NPLW Northern NSW grand final at No.2 Sportsground this Sunday.

The 25-year-old can break a game open in an instant, as seen last weekend when she inspired Olympic to a 3-1 preliminary final win over Broadmeadow with a match brace.

She set up Olympic's 3-2 grand final win over Warners Bay two years ago with a first-half double and a player of the match performance.

This year, House showed her class in Olympic's 4-2 victory against the Panthers in round 10 by scoring twice and setting up another. It was the Bay's last loss.

"Jemma House is dangerous every time she touches the ball, and she's such a flexible player," Atkins said.

"She floats into different areas so we've got to be very mindful of where she is. [Midfielder] Paige Kingston-Hogg has been really good for them this year. She links up quite well Jemma and the front three.

"We're very aware of what they're going to be able to bring and we can't lose focus for a second on Sunday."

The Panthers advanced to the grand final with a 6-1 win over Magic in the major semi-final.

Versatile Zoe Horgan, who has been playing centre-back, sat out the match with a hamstring complaint but comes back into calculations in the only possible change to Warners Bay's starting side.

The Panthers had the best attack (122 goals) and most miserly defence (21) across the 21-round competition.

Olympic finished fourth, 21 points adrift of Warners Bay. They had the third-best attacking record (83 goals) and fourth-best defensive effort (41).

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