General News
29 August, 2019
Magpies gear up for finals challenge
CAMPERDOWN open netball coach Brooke Richardson says her side learned plenty from their loss to Cobden ahead of its Hampden league finals campaign.
CAMPERDOWN open netball coach Brooke Richardson says her side learned plenty from their loss to Cobden ahead of its Hampden league finals campaign.
The Magpies were dealt a 58-39 defeat last Saturday, a result Richardson said was disappointing.
“Cobden are on top for a reason and are a quality side so it was a good opportunity to play them,” she said.
“Hopefully we get to meet them again in the finals series and build on what we learnt from the weekend.”
Richardson said the loss identified several areas the Magpies needed to improve ahead of their elimination final clash with North Warrnambool on Sunday at Koroit’s Victoria Park.
“We need to trust each other more and give the ball off a little quicker,” she said.
“Their (Cobden’s) goalies are very accurate and we probably needed to work a bit harder to stop it getting into the ring and into their hands as easy as it did.
“We probably just needed a bit more intensity across the court, which is something we need to have this week.”
The Magpies and Eagles are set to meet for the third time this season, with the two sides splitting their home and away contests one apiece.
Richardson said her side would take plenty of confidence into the clash on the back of their recent form and their one goal win over the same opponent in round 13.
“We’re all super excited to take on North Warrnambool,” she said.
“We’re definitely in with a chance, but they’re a tough side (to play) so we need to make sure our intensity is up.
“We can’t afford to have lapses at any moment against these top sides playing finals and that will be our biggest test, making sure our intensity is up for 15 minutes of every quarter.
“We also have to make sure we’re sticking to our game plan and not getting sucked into what they’re doing.”
Richardson said the Magpies would also need to ensure their full court defensive pressure was high against the Eagles given they had a strong attack line.
“Their goalies are super accurate and they also make a contest all over the court,” she said.
“We can’t go in (to a contest) at 80 per cent, we have to give 100 per cent or more because they’re a quality side and they know each other well.
“We can’t just come in thinking it’s going to happen because it’s going to be one of our hardest games this year.”
Meanwhile, the 15 and under netball side commence its finals campaign against North Warrnambool in the qualifying final on Saturday.
The two sides split their home and away clashes, with the Eagles winning the most recent encounter in round 12 by seven goals.
Ironically, that was the same margin as Camperdown’s round four win, with the clash at Hamilton’s Melville Oval expected to be a close affair.