Sport
3 May, 2022
Tigers slip to third after first loss
THE Simpson A grade side posted its first loss for the year, going down 34 goals to 39 away to South Colac on Saturday.
THE Simpson A grade side posted its first loss for the year, going down 34 goals to 39 away to South Colac on Saturday.
After a slow start the Tigers were 11 goals down at half-time but the visitors exhibited determination and fight in the second half to reduce the margin to just five goals by thefinal whistle.
Despite the loss, Simpson co-coach Paige Salmon said her playing group was proud of the spirit displayed in the second half fightback.
“We’re actually not too disappointed, to be honest,” she said.
“We were disappointed with our first half, but we were really happy with how we came back and played that second half of the game."
“We learnt a lot, we had a lot to take away, and a lot to improve on, so it’s not too bad.”
Excepting the second quarter, the Tigers outscored their opponents by a net +3 for the rest of the game, but the 14-6 deficit in the second period was too much for Simpson to overcome.
“South Colac got a lot of turnovers in the second, while we failed to capitalise on anything that we turned over,” Salmon said.
“They got the jump on us in that quarter, and we struggled to come back from that inthe end.”
Salmon said despite the loss, her team had done extremely well to be competitive.
“It takes a lot for a team to come back from being 11 goals down at half time to being within a goal with three minutes to go,” she said.
“So I think that was our biggest positive, our ability to not drop our heads and justkeep going.”
Salmon was named in the best for Simpson alongside fellow co-coach Jessie Harding, who shot 21 goals, and centre Kelly Thompson.
“Kelly really stood up in that second half and led from the front in terms of getting turnovers and applying pressure,” Salmon said.
“She leads through her actions. If you want someone who leads by example, Kelly’syour girl."
“She’s amazing, she puts in 100 per cent every time.”
The loss means Simpson drops back to third on the ladder behind league leaders Irrewarra-Beeac and South Colac, while this week’s opponents Colac Imperials languish in ninth spot with just one win from four.
“We’re really happy with how we’re travelling, especially because we haven’t played with our full nine players yet,”Salmon said.
She said the loss had highlighted a few things the side would work on before the Imperials game this week.
“We’ll do a lot of systems work, try to get our combinations down-court happening, and try to work on a zone defence,” Salmon said.
“We’ll work on small aspects but also on the whole court to get the girls to gel together at the same time."
“We want to convert our turnovers and get that flow going into attack.”
This week’s game also marks Harding’s 200th game for Simpson, where she has played her entire junior and senior netball career.
In other games around the league last weekend, Alvie defeated Imperials, Apollo Bay defeated Lorne, Otway Districts won at Birregurra, and Irrewarra-Beeac won by 34 goals against Western Eagles.