Kangas out to stop undefeated rivals
KERANG v COHUNA
HAVING taken all before them so far in 2023, Saturday’s match against arch-rivals Cohuna presents as a danger game for the ladder leading Kerang.
The Blues have been the story of the season, with three wins from as many matches to sit atop the Central Murray A Grade ladder.
Their opponents have just one win from three matches, but encouraging performances against Woorinen in round 1 and last Saturday against an in-form Lake Boga has the Kangas poised to score an upset and start their own climb towards a top five berth.
Cohuna coach Meg Dye told The Guardian she was confident her team were heading in the right direction.
“It’ll be a tough game and will take a full four-quarter performance, but we’re definitely building towards playing a consistent brand of netball,” the Kangas midcourter said.
“We’ll take a lot of confidence from last week’s game against Lake Boga, I felt we played extremely well and both teams played some really high-quality netball.
“In the end it was our last quarter that really let us down, the final margin (14 goals) didn’t really do us justice and didn’t show how well we played.
“Even though we are still a work in progress, I was really pleased with the way we played and our positivity and effort all over the court.”
Kerang coach Chloe Adams was well aware of the challenge that presents itself on Saturday, despite her own club’s early-season success.
“You never take any team lightly, regardless of what previous results might have been and that will be our approach,” Adams said.
“We know (Cohuna) will come out firing, there’s obviously a pretty big rivalry between the two teams, and from history it’s always a good match and one that has a lot passion attached to it.
“We know what we’re capable of, but we’re just taking it week by week and will continue to try and get the four points regardless of what the ladder says or who the opposition are.”
While the Kangas are a team on the improve, they will have to take the next step without defender Danielle Sawyer, who will miss at least the next four weeks with a hand injury.
Breanna Wilson and Jorja Henry are expected to help fill the void, with Dye confident her side will have the capacity to repel the Blues’ advances with Keely Wilson still a key member of the defensive half of the court.
Dye was also expecting big things from her attacking half.
“If our goalers are on and our attacking end are linking up, I definitely think our attacking half of the court will stand up to the challenge,” Dye said.
“With Chloe Adams and Katelyn Wright in defence for them, I feel our attack will need to step up another level, even though we’ve been playing quite well in that area of the court.”
With a full-strength squad to choose from, the home side will back themselves to not only compete, but negate anything the Kangas are able to throw at them, with Adams keen to see her side focus on their own game.
“I think we’re pretty strong in all areas of the court and long as we’re playing to our best, I think we should be alright,” Adams said.
“We expect them to very competitive and quite accurate in the goals and agile in defence, but our strength really is our depth all over the court and we’ll just back ourselves in to get the job done.”
Tip – Kerang to win by seven goals.
SWAN HILL v NNW UNITED
SWAN Hill will be out to keep their winning start to 2023 intact when they host Nyah-Nyah West United.
With a different looking line-up to last year’s grand final side, the Swans could be excused for taking some time to settle.
But the Swans have seemingly hit the ground running, with a comfortable victory over the Saints followed by last Saturday’s hard-fought 13-goal win over the Mallee Eagles.
The Demons, who were hoping to take the next step of playing finals, find themselves outside the top five with just one win from three matches and at risk of falling behind the chasing pack.
While the midcourt battle between the two sides looms as a key focus, the match will likely be decided in the Swans’ attacking third, with former Saints teammates Zoe Morris and Taylen Blachford set to go head-to-head.
Tip – Swan Hill to win by 12 goals.
LAKE BOGA v TYNTYNDER
WITH an undefeated start to the season and home court advantage, Lake Boga will go in as red-hot favourites against Tyntynder.
While the Bulldogs secured their first points of the season against Koondrook-Barham last Saturday, they were far from convincing against a team who hadn’t tasted victory in more than a year.
A similar performance could end very badly for Tyntynder, with Lake Boga seemingly intent on ending their premiership drought under new coach Anne-Marie Stewart this season.
While the Magpies are, like the Bulldogs, still a work in progress, they also have strong depth right across the court, starting with the Hepburn sisters in attack, Holly Hogan and Lily Brennan in the midcourt and Jemma Meehan in defence.
With finals seemingly on the agenda, there’s too much at stake for Lake Boga to drop this one.
Tip – Lake Boga to win by 16 goals.
TOOLEYBUC-MANANGATANG v MALLEE EAGLES
THE Mallee Eagles’ winless streak should come to a close when they travel to Tooleybuc.
While the Eagles have endured a tough start to the season, with losses to Lake Boga, Kerang and Swan Hill, they are a much better side than their 0-3 record would suggest.
Tooleybuc-Manangatang on the other hand are a team in rebuild mode, with coach Mel Wait focusing on developing the Saints’ talented youth and not on wins in 2023.
While the signs are good for the future, the present has the Saints up against it, with a win against a desperate and hungry Eagles likely to be a bridge too far.
Tip – Mallee Eagles to win by 14 goals.
KOONDROOK-BARHAM v BALRANALD
AS if an encounter against the reigning premiers wasn’t tough enough for Koondrook-Barham, they will also have to endure a Balranald side that will be looking for redemption after last Saturday’s loss to Woorinen.
An eight-goal loss to the Tigers would no doubt have stung Jess Parry and her team last Saturday, and one can expect them to come out breathing fire against the Raiders in response.
Much like Tooleybuc-Manangatang, Koondrook-Barham are in the midst of a rebuild and have turned to the future under new coach Grant Matthews, but that will only leave them vulnerable against the reigning premiers.
Expect a big game from Jess Parry and Ella Mirtschin in goals for the Roos, who should return the winners circle in style.
Tip – Balranald to win by 27 goals.
