THIS weekend’s grudge match between long-time rivals Cohuna and Kerang is a must-win for the Blues, who haven’t given up their hopes of playing in this year’s finals series.
While the Blues’ road to finals was already going to be a hard slog in these last few home-and-away rounds, last week they made a rod for their own backs after an unexpected loss against Nyah-Nyah West United.
But coach Chloe Adams told The Guardian they haven’t drawn a line under making into back into the top five in time for finals.
“We’d be lying if we said we weren’t extremely disappointed in the loss, but we’ve just got to leave that where it is, do everything we can moving forward to put ourselves in the best position that we can, and hopefully we can be there in finals,” she said.
“We are definitely aware that it is going to be a wait and see (to get into finals), which isn’t the position you want to be in, but at the end of the day if you don’t win certain games that is what tends to happen, you have to wait on the results of other teams.
“So we are just going to do what we can, focus on us, focus on our game and putting together the performances we know we can, and hope that come round 18 we are in those finals.”
Adams said the main focus of her side against the Kangas will be four consistent quarters. From a coaching perspective, she will be trying to make fewer changes on the court during the game this week to see if that helps the flow of her players.
“One thing we are really lucky to have is that we have so much versatility within the team, so we’re not like a set seven staying in those positions, we can swing people to different spots,” Adams said.
“(But) we want players performing out there from the get go so that changes don’t have to be made – we want to get back to the way that we know we can play and put in a really strong performance against a team that is never easy to beat.”
The last time the rivals met in round 4, the Blues convincingly beat the Kangas by 18 goals. But this time they will likely be without Adams in defence, who is suffering from a calf injury, and will instead be looking to young defender Lily Wise, who only played her first A Grade game last weekend.
While the Kangas season has been far from perfect, struggling with season-ending injuries to key players such as Keely Wilson and Danni Sawyer, and with no chance of making final, coach Meg Dye said they take each game as it comes, with a focus on consistency and keeping their heads up in the harder battles.
“We want to challenge them, make them earn it, so if we can push them and better ourselves and keep a positive attitude and try and finish the season the best we can, that’s all I can ask really,” she said.
Both Adams and Dye believe the midcourt battles will be some of the key match-ups for the game, particularly the head-to-head against Anthea Toma and Zoe Livingston.
“(The game) is definitely going to be won in different areas I think, but who is going to stand up the strongest will determine the game,” Dye said.
While the Kangas may give them a run for their money, the Blues’ determination to make the final five should be enough to get them over the line tomorrow.
The game will start half an hour earlier at 12.20pm in Cohuna tomorrow as the Kangas celebrate Ladies Day.
