General News
12 April, 2022
Mixed fortunes for Cobden at Portland
SOPHIE Hinkley’s Bombers had a convincing win in Portland to open their account for the 2022 season.
SOPHIE Hinkley’s Bombers had a convincing win in Portland to open their account for the 2022 season.
In sweltering conditions Cobden took an early lead and built upon it throughout the game, finishing the day with a winning score of 57-33.
With Nadine McNamara unavailable in the back-court Sarah Moroney stepped into goal keeper and earned herself best player for her side, while Grace Taylor stepped up to make her debut in Hampden open netball.
Hinkley said she was most impressed with her side’s commitment and persistence in extremely difficult conditions.
“It was a real test of fitness, it was very hot, and Portland’s always a difficult day,” she said.
“The umpires do things a bit differently to anyone else in the league, and it’s probably the place where it’s hardest for us to adapt.
“Our players were tired, and they were making some mistakes, but they were persistent in moving forward and working hard for the next ball, which was impressive.”
Hinkley said as a coach she felt very fortunate with her playing group and while Sarah Moroney deserved to be named best on court she was proud of her whole side.
“We’re really lucky in the consistency across our whole squad,” she said.
“We’re always going to have good performers, and we could usually pick anyone from our group in the best.
“But Sarah Moroney was really great as that last line of defence, which is especially important on a hot day when everyone in the middle of the court is pretty spent.”
Alicia Blain was also named in the best, as was Remeny McCann.
“Alicia was running through the mid-court beautifully, she worked really hard,”Hinkley said.
“It was great to see everyone contribute.”
Cobden has worked hard to improve its attacking play, and after a tough game against South Warrnambool in round one Hinkley said she was pleased to see her players implementing the systems they’d worked on in pre-season.
“We really concentrated on making our direct entries to attack, making the girls work together in a way that’s really direct and efficient,” she said.
“We really want to isolate Emily Finch in the goal circle and use her strengths, but South Warrnambool played a beautiful defensive game against us and didn’t allow us to do what we wanted.
“So this week it was great to see the girls work on that timing and make sure they’re getting rid of their player before makingtheir leads.”
The Bombers travel to Camperdown this week to face the Magpies in a contest Hinkley said she was looking forward to.
“It’s always a great game, close to home, and it’s a nice rivalry,” she said.
“It’s a Super Saturday as well, which is always nice to have at Camperdown.
“Camperdown’s always a great competitor for us, so we’ll look forward to anothersolid game.”
In other Hampden League games, Warrnambool defeated Hamilton, South Warrnambool beat Camperdown by 27 goals, Port Fairy lost to Terang Mortlake and North Warrnambool and Koroit drew.
While the netballers claimed victory, Cobden footballers had a tough day, going down 9.8 (62) to Portland’s 16.13 (109).
The Tigers got away to a two-goal lead in the first quarter, and while the Bombers trailed by just 19 points at the half-time break they couldn’t keep pace through the third period, conceding six majors to their two.
Louis Cahill, Oliver Darcy and Thomas Spokes kicked two goals each for Cobden, while Charlie Darcy, Tyler Humphrey and Paul Pekin added a goal apiece.
Grady Rooke was named in the best, as was seniors debutante Henry Robertson.
In other matches, Hamilton beat Warrnambool by four points, Koroit edged out North Warrnambool by three points, Terang Mortlake defeated Port Fairy and South Warrnambool beat Camperdown by a 110-point margin.