WITH a spot in the finals and a chance at a second consecutive premiership at stake, Balranald will be looking to stop Lake Boga’s stellar run on Saturday.
The Magpies have cemented themselves as the team to beat this season and are yet to lose a game. But Lake Boga netball president Sheridan Harrop told The Guardian an element of pressure came with that elevated expectation.
“Obviously we didn’t go into the season thinking that we were going to be at this point, and we know that the mindset of many teams has probably changed through the mid-season in that they are now looking to train to beat us rather than us being a little bit underestimated,” Harrop said.
“We take our preparation for any game week by week, and a lot of it is just concentration and focus on our own game – regardless of who we play, we focus on where we are at, our goals, and what we want to achieve from the game itself.”
The Roos’ season, however, has been a series of up and downs, moving in and out of the top five and struggling to find the cohesiveness that won them the premiership last year.
Sitting in fourth place on the ladder, the Roos are well aware that their spot in the finals in not yet secure. But coach Jess Parry said that would be a big motivator for her side.
“It is really driving us at the moment because we are not guaranteed a finals position just yet, so I think that is really pushing the girls along to try and be better each week,” she said.
In winning their past five matches, including an 89-goal annihilation of Koondrook-Barham last round, Parry believes her team is ready and looking forward to taking on the ladder leaders.
“I think we are starting to play our better netball for the season, and we’re just looking forward to the challenge,” she said.
“Our main focus will be just to play a really strong and consistent four quarters of netball.
“We’ve had some really good passages of play the last couple of weeks, but we just really want to become a bit more disciplined and string together that really strong four quarters without having a lapse anywhere in there.”
The first-versus-fourth clash is set to have spectators, and likely the players themselves, on edge, as when the two sides met in round 5 the Roos narrowly lost the game by just three goals. They were also without the assistance of defender Elli Brougham for the majority of the match after she left the game in the first quarter with a calf strain.
Parry believes having Brougham this time around may just be enough to tip the scales, as she will go up against Magpies shooter Sarah Hepburn.
“Looking at all the top four sides – Boga, Swan Hill, Woorinen and Lalbert – they all have tall goalies, so I think we match up really well against those teams with Elli,” Parry said.
“She is a real asset to our defence end and to our team in general, so I’m really looking forward to the match-up between her and Sarah.”
Harrop also believes the game will be won within the goal circles, with both sides needing to have the ability to capitalise on intercepts or turnovers.
“A lot of it will done in the bookends, both with Sarah and Elli, and Ella (Mirtschin) and Sophie (Peacock),” she said.
Will Balranald’s recent good form and determination be enough to get them over the line? Or will Lake Boga’s teamwork and clinical style of play mean they remain untouchable? Only one thing is for certain – it’s a match not to be missed.
