BALRANALD will be out to solidify top spot on the ladder when they host Woorinen at Greenham Park on Saturday.
The Roos have been one of the form teams of the competition with five wins from their first six games, their only loss coming at the hands of Swan Hill by just four goals a fortnight ago.
Woorinen, on the other hand, are in a rebuilding phase, with the perennial finalists and reigning (2019) premiers finding themselves in the bottom half of the ladder with two wins from seven rounds.
But while the game on paper would seem to be within the home side’s grasp, Balranald coach Jess Parry told The Guardian this week she would take nothing for granted.
“I think if you looked at the ladder and saw where Woorinen are, you’d still wouldn’t approach the game any differently than them being a top-two or top-three side with the players that are still in their line-up,” Parry said.
“They’ve still got a number of high-quality, experienced players in their team and the depth that they have through their A Reserve and B Grade sides means that on their day they can still be an extremely strong side.
“Obviously they are rebuilding, but with those older players in the side, if they are mentoring the younger players then I still think they’ll be hard to beat.”
The experienced players Parry is talking about include Tessa Demaria (GD) and Olivia Jones (GA), along with a strong midcourt section containing Emily Siely, Emily Free and Jaimee Beasy. The key to victory for the Roos is their ability to not allow Demaria and Jones to link up through their midcourt players.
The battle between the two midcourt teams promises to be an intriguing one, according to Parry, with the young Roos set to go head-to-head with their more experienced opponents.
“Our mid-court players have really stepped up over the past few weeks,” Parry said. “Our mid-court are the youngest section of our team as well, with Bree Hodgson, who’s 16, Bonnie Jolliffe, who’s just turned 18, and Taylin Barry – they’re all really young but they’re also playing some really exciting netball.
“In saying that, our defensive end so far this year has been our biggest strength. They’ve performed really well each week and it probably wasn’t until that loss against Swan Hill that our attack has really stepped up.”
“We were just getting away with a few little bad habits in our game in the weeks before that loss that we really needed to stamp out.
“But we took those bad habits into that Swan Hill game and they proved that it wasn’t good enough, so our attack has been working really hard to improve and I think we have.”
The other big game this weekend will be at Tooleybuc, where the sixth-placed Saints will be looking to continue their charge towards a possible top-five berth when they host seventh-placed Nyah-Nyah West United. The Demons have been among the big improvers this season under new coach Laura Anderson and will be out to lay claim to a finals place. Both teams find themselves one win behind fifth-placed Cohuna Kangas.
In the other games, the winless Koondrook-Barham will have the task in front of them when they host Swan Hill, while the Mallee Eagles will be out to solidify their top-five credentials when they face Tyntynder.
