Sport
12 May, 2022
Strong start for Demons
LISMORE Derrinallum netball side suffered its first defeat of the season at the hands of Caramut last weekend, but will look to take strides against Ararat.
LISMORE Derrinallum netball side suffered its first defeat of the season at the hands of Caramut last weekend, but will look to take strides against Ararat.
The Demons fell 41-28 in what coach Amy Lodge said was a strong defensive performance lacking in making the most of scoring opportunities.
“It was quite a challenging game in which we could have done a lot better than we did,” she said.
“I think it was bound to come, and in some ways I’m glad it has because it’s shown us a lot of what is in our capabilities and what we need to work more on.
“We’ve probably got a good indicator now of what our strengths and weaknesses are, which we knew about but have now become clearer.”
Lodge said the emphasis moving forward would be finding the right combinations to keep the ball moving up the court.
“Finding the duos that are our strongest duos is something we want to achieve while we’re still testing the waters with combinations,” she said.
“I think we’ll be right once we start to get those set, but the speed of our team is a strength.
“Finding the strength and composure is one thing, I think we got a bit frazzled on the weekend when we turned over the things we shouldn’t have turned over.”
Lodge said her side’s performance was strong on the defensive end, but left plays on the court when transitioning in to attack.
“It was quite a defensive game with everyone on the team averaging at least five intercepts per person,” she said.
“Which is a sensational effort; it’s just what we did with it when we got attacking.”
The Demons have fallen off the pace with ladder leaders Tatyoon and Hawkesdale Macarthur following the loss, but Lodge said her team would look to bounce back on the weekend against Ararat.
“We’ll focus on refining what we missed last week, not only on the scoreboard,” she said.
“A win this weekend would be a great result but this will be a big test for us that will tell us where we stand for the season.
“We just need to focus on maintaining that refinement, and playing more of an attacking game.”