General News
12 June, 2019
Bloods fall short against top side
TERANG Mortlake’s open netball coach Lisa Arundell is taking plenty of positives out of her side’s loss to Cobden last Saturday.
TERANG Mortlake’s open netball coach Lisa Arundell is taking plenty of positives out of her side’s loss to Cobden last Saturday.
The Bloods jumped the Bombers early in the contest but were overpowered as the game progressed, eventually going down to the ladder leaders 46-38.
“It was quite good the start that we made, I think we were up seven at quarter time but they made some changes and that worked for them,” Arundell said.
“We were in it until the last quarter, a couple of things went against us and they got away but I was fairly happy with our performance regardless of that.”
Arundell said the biggest positive to take out of the contest was her side’s ability to hold up defensively against a star studded Bombers attacking line-up.
“I thought our defensive pressure was good and was the key to us starting well,” she said.
“Our three defenders in particular in Libby Moloney, Brooke Hoare and Melissa Burt played really well and are starting to combine beautifully.
“I was very happy with them because the goalies at Cobden are very strong and rarely miss so you have to make the most of every defensive opportunity you get.”
The mentor was also pleased with two other aspects of their performance.
“I thought our attacking end handled their pressure really well,” Arundell said.
“We managed to play that possession game without throwing the ball away.
“And once again and for the last three weeks, I was really pleased with a team effort.
“It’s really hard to single out players because of that which is exactly what you want as coach.”
However she reserved praise for recruits Faye Clarke and Melissa Burt, who continued to impact games after crossing to the club from the Warrnambool and District league before the start of the season.
“We’ve been working on a few things at training with Faye and she did all those things on Saturday which was good,” Arundell said.
“And I think she really showed on Saturday that she is capable of playing Hampden netball after crossing over from the district league.
“And it’s the same respect with Melissa Burt, she crossed over from Dennington and she was really good under the ring and made her presence felt.
“The two of them were really our better players for the reason being they are just taking everything in their stride.”
The Bloods loss dropped them outside the top five ahead of another tough match with Koroit, with Arundell keen to see her side again take it up to one of the competition’s best teams.
“I think we’re in good stead heading into the game but having said that each week is a tough game and Koroit especially won’t be an easy task down there, we’ve really got to play four strong quarters,” she said.
“We are looking forward to the game, it shows more about where we sit and that was the same with Cobden so hopefully we can take it up to them.”