Kerang continues to shape this year’s finals series despite having their season ended weeks ago, with Woorinen becoming the latest potential finalist to fall foul of the Blues’ late season resurgence.
The Tigers join Balranald and Cohuna as notches on Kerang’s belt in the 14-goal win, with the final score of 48-34 giving the Blues their third consecutive victory.
After opening up a four-goal lead at quarter time, the visitors then put their foot down in the second term, outscoring the home side 12-6 to take a 12-goal lead into the main break.
From there, Kerang were never really troubled, maintaining a double digits lead for the rest of the match.
Kerang coach Chloe Adams couldn’t have been happier with her team’s performance after the match, with the Blues ability to quickly transition from defence to attack coming to the fore in recent weeks.
“I was really happy with the way the girls performed, right from the first whistle to the last,” she said.
“We still had some lulls and they (Woorinen) came back hard multiple times throughout the game, but I was really proud of the way the girls not only held on but pushed out the win and got the score line to what it was.
“Woorinen have so much experience in their side and defensively they’re incredibly strong and in their attack end they are super composed, so it was a really good win from that perspective.
“We’ve really been working hard on getting the ball quickly out of the defence end, but then controlling it going into our attack end.
“We’ve been working on being able to pull the trigger and move the ball quickly, but then also reining it in when it gets over the attacking transfer so we can control it into ‘Neecy’ (Denise Snyder).
“In terms of their (Woorinen) transition and moving from their defence end to their attacking end, we focused on switching from attack to defence really quickly. That allows us defenders down the other end to get more of a chance to have a look at their ball movement, rather than it coming in really hot.
“I think Saturday’s result was a combination of both. I’m super proud of the way we transitioned the ball, but I’m also really happy with the way we slowed down their transition as well.”
It wasn’t just Kerang’s ball movement through the midcourt that impressed, but the Blues attacking end also came in for credit, with Snyder (30 goals) and Carla Walker (18 goals) continuing to develop their partnership since Snyder’s return from injury.
“Denise (Snyder) was sensational, she was under pressure all day and would have been double teamed for 80 percent of the game,” Adams said.
“She’s really getting back to her best form after her injury, which is great to see.
“Her and Carla Walker connected beautifully with Bree (Cordina) and Danielle (Coates) through the midcourt.
“She (Walker) had a tough job on Tessa (Demaria) who is such a formidable defender. I thought she played spectacularly against one of the best players in the league.
“KB (Keiarah Brooks) was epic for us as well. She picked up so many balls for us, not only out front but also in the ring and her attacking work down the court was fantastic this week also.”
Among the better players for Woorinen were defenders Demaria and Rachel McLaughlin, along with Jaimee Beasy who was composed and strong through the midcourt.
The loss has severely dented the Tigers hopes of playing finals, with Woorinen remaining a win and percentage behind fifth placed Cohuna with just two rounds left.
Final Whistle
Woorinen 34
Kerang 48
