NETBALL
GIPPSLAND LEAGUE
Moe coach Peter Moody is pulling no punches ahead of this weekend’s round seven clash with heavyweights and defending premiers Traralgon.
“Traralgon has been fantastic all year so far but they’ve just got strengths up and down the court,” Moody said
“But there’s no excuses from us and we’re fielding our strongest team of the year and looking forward to the challenge.”
Despite a narrow loss to Morwell before the interleague break, Moody said the Lions were bolstered by the “great form” of goal shooter Isabelle Hodgson and defenders Shannon Freeman and Emily McInnes.
“I think we were really unlucky to lose to Morwell and Shannon and Emily did a great job but we just need to tighten up through the mid court.”
Traralgon were pushed to their limits by Drouin in the 2017 A grade grand final rematch and came away with a draw.
Moody singled out a number of star Maroons as potential sources of danger ahead of Saturday’s game but said his young Lions had what it takes to steal a win.
“Taylin [Gourley] at goal shooter is obviously a big one … Shannon [Freeman] is going to need some assistance with restricting the feeders,” he said.
“We also need to make sure Stacey O’Brien isn’t running rampant, but we don’t want to be too defensively minded.
“I believe if we play our best we can really take it up to them.”
Sale v Bairnsdale
Bairnsdale can move inside the top five of the Gippsland league A grade competition this weekend with a win over Sale.
The Magpies were on the receiving end of a belting from Wonthaggi in their last run in round six before the interleague break and Bairnsdale suffered a similar fate at the hands of Maffra and went down by 10 goals.
Bairnsdale coach Katelyn Wheeler said this weekend’s contest was shaping to be an interesting one.
“I think Sale are similar to us in that they’re young, and we’ll be looking to obviously play to that advantage as they’ll be doing to us,” she said.
Wheeler pinpointed the Magpies defence as a danger zone and called on some young players in the Bairnsdale attack to take charge on Saturday.
“I think our shooters will really have to step up this weekend,” she said.
“Isla Pearson is only 15 and Sally Deller is 19 so we’ve got a really good group of young ones coming through and it has worked out pretty well most games.”
Wheeler admitted the “increased physicality” of A grade netball had been “a struggle” for some of Bairnsdale’s younger charges but said they were improving week by week.
“I think a couple of the young girls have got lots of netball in them now and we’re just starting to come together,” she said.
“They haven’t put a foot wrong when it comes to skill level and they’re right up there.”
The Magpies have just the one win to their name so far for season 2018, against Moe in round four while the Redlegs sit just outside the top five with two wins and four losses.
Drouin v Leongatha
Leongatha coach Alisha Hemming has earmarked this weekend’s encounter with Drouin as a timely test for the Parrots.
“Drouin are just really accurate in goals and they’ll make you pay for any intercept or turnover,” Hemming said.
“We’ve just got to be strong, hold our own and hold the centre passes and be a bit more accurate ourselves under the ring.”
There was nothing separating Drouin from Traralgon in round six in the 2017 grand final replay and the sides drew 57 goals apiece.
On the back of a solid win over Warragul, Leongatha will be strengthened by the return of defender Lauren Redpath for Saturday’s game.
“We haven’t had a full strength team with her in it and we were able to beat Warragul without her, so it should be interesting to see how we go with her this weekend,” Hemming said.
“Loz is pretty vital in the back line for us, so we’ve missed her.”
Star centre Nicola Marriott had representative honours to fulfil during the interleague break but should slot back into the Leongatha line up in time for Saturday.
On where the danger lies for the Parrots, Hemming singled out league best and fairest Stacie Gardiner as one to watch.
“Stacie is a machine … she is accurate and can lift her team really easily,” she said.
Wonthaggi v Morwell
Wonthaggi recorded a big win over Sale in round six before the interleague break, 4-26, while Morwell edged out Moe to take the points by four goals.
The Tigers are sitting pretty on top of the Gippsland league A grade ladder undefeated after Traralgon and Drouin played off in a stalemate in round six.
Maffra v Warragul
Maffra will be eyeing off second spot on the Gippsland A grade netball ladder when they take to the court against Warragul in round seven action this weekend.
The Eagles were dominant in their round six performance and returned home with a 10-goal win over Bairnsdale while Warragul were overrun by Leongatha, 41-36.
Maffra is poised in third spot on the Gippsland league ladder with four wins to date, a game clear of Drouin and Moe.
