General News
31 May, 2022
Tigers fight back to defeat Bombers
SIMPSON has held on to third position on the ladder after defeating Irrewarra-Beeac 47-38 at home on the weekend.
SIMPSON has held on to third position on the ladder after defeating Irrewarra-Beeac 47-38 at home on the weekend.
After falling behind the Bombers in the first half, the Tigers found their stride, outscoring the visitors 28-16 in the second half to win 47-38.
Simpson’s offence led the charge, with co-coach and goal shooter Jesse Harding named best on court yet again for her 28-goal haul and Chloe Gray supporting with an important 19 goals.
Tigers co-coach Paige Salmon said the side was thrilled with the victory, particularly considering the two teams’ ladder positions.
“We were stoked with the win, especially against such a quality side as Irrewarra,” she said.
“Looking at the ladder after the last round, there were a lot of upsets, so in terms of the four points it was a really important one for us.”
Salmon said despite being behind for much of the first half, her side never lost its focus and belief.
“We never really felt like we were behind, it always felt really even and contested,” she said.
“So we were calm at half-time even though we were down by three, we just made one change, and having those fresh legs come onto the court made the difference in the second half of the game.”
While the Tigers have won all but two of their eight games so far, Salmon said this was the first game where the team played a complete game of netball.
“We’ve been really focusing the last few weeks on getting a good, consistent four quarters of netball on the court, and we’ve struggled to achieve that,” she said.
“We took it quarter by quarter and put it on every player to be accountable for their own game and trusted that if we do that, our game would come together.
“And I think on the weekend it finally did.”
Salmon said this week’s match against seventh-placed Lorne was going to be another challenge for her side.
“I think it’ll be a tough one. Looking at their results the last few weeks, they’ve had some really big wins,” she said.
“And they’re unpredictable, you don’t really know what you’re going to get each time you play them.
“So we’ll be going in like any other week expecting a really tough match. It’ll be good to see what they’re like.”