Another chapter will be written in the rivalry that is Tyntynder versus Swan Hill, when the two clubs lock horns this weekend.
With just two points separating first and fourth on the ladder, a win for the Swans is a must against an opponent who finds themselves in the unfamiliar territory in the bottom half of the table.
One thing is always for certain, whenever the two crosstown rivals meet, not an inch is given. And tomorrow will be no exception, according to Tyntynder coach Georgia Styles, who spoke with The Guardian earlier this week in the lead-up to the big game.
“It’s always a tough and competitive game when we play Swan Hill – it doesn’t matter what the occasion is, really,” she said.
“There’s a lot of new girls in our side that probably don’t have the rivalry with Swan Hill that a few of the older girls do, but they understand the occasion and will give it their best as they’re a group that never gives up.”
“It’s going to be a tough game – Swan Hill have a lot of older heads that know how to play really well but the girls have improved a lot since the start of the season.”
“I think we were a bit unlucky to lose against Lake Boga, so I’m sure our girls will be fired up and ready to go on the back of last weekend’s result.”
It’s been a difficult start to the season for the Bulldogs, with just the one win so far in 2022 – which came all the way back in round three against Koondrook-Barham. But with close losses to Lake Boga, NNW United and Woorinen over the past month, Styles feels her team might be just about to turn the corner.
“We had a bit of a disruptive start to the season which was out of our hands, so it took us a bit to gel together – there’s only one player remaining from last year’s A Grade team (Nichola Miliano) so to get seven girls who’ve never played before to gel takes a bit of time,” Styles said.
“But I think we’re slowly starting to get the mix right and work out what works for us as a group – we’re certainly improving every week.”
Swan Hill have winners on every line and will be hard to stop, especially with Madeleine Nalder and Casey Frame in impressive form this season at both ends of the court. While the mid-court battle between the Swans Zoe O’Sullivan, Kelsey McCoy and Karli McIntyre and Tyntynder’s Demi Wall, Toni Rivett and Rose Crowe will go a long way to deciding tomorrow’s game, Styles also has a particular match-up in mind that she will be hoping will swing the contest in their favour.
“Madeleine Nalder is a great player and is their barometer, really – we’ll be starting Tess Denham on her which will be a good match up for us as Tess knows how she plays,” Styles said.
“One of our strengths is that we’re all very versatile, we can swing players between positions which works well for us and should hopefully hold us in good stead going forward.”
