A SEA of blue will be courtside at Greenham Park tomorrow when Kerang and Balranald meet in a must-win clash.
While the Blues were considered the dark horses of the this year’s Central Murray competition early on, they have fluctuated in and out of the top five in the latter half of the season, and currently sit in sixth position.
Likewise, the reigning premiers are also yet to cement their finals position, currently in fourth, but with the Blues and Mallee Eagles only one loss behind.
While a loss for Balranald tomorrow won’t quite drop them out of the top five, a loss for Kerang will rule them out of finals contention this year.
Blues coach Chloe Adams told The Guardian her team was just trying to concentrate on the task at hand in an attempt not to become overwhelmed during the match.
“Obviously the pressure is definitely there, but we are going to go in just really focusing on the process – I know that’s a very cliche line, but it is really all you can do,” she said.
“I think if you look too big-picture that’s when you can get in your head a bit, so that’s going to be our focus this week … that one play at a time, that one quarter at a time, and just doing our processes that we know we can do well and hopefully come out with the result at the end.”
The Blues return to the court after having a bye in round 16, which Adams believed fell at an ideal time for her side.
“We had a couple of niggles injury wise, so in terms of that it was really good,” she said.
“Sometimes I think the bye can be a hindrance, but on the other hand, it can also be a really good refresh at this time of year, which is how we are looking at it.”
The Roos, led by coach Jess Parry, are known for their fast-paced, clinical style of play, able to score quickly when they have a run on the ball.
In order to try to combat this and slow the game down to their own pace, Adams believed it would come back to focusing on one thing at a time.
“Hard one-on-one in defence and accountability for our own players (will be important), and once we sort of grind down a bit, then we can go to some different structures,” she said.
Last time the sides met, Balranald narrowly got the win by a single goal, putting an end to Kerang’s perfect start to the season. That was without defender Elli Brougham and midcourter Keiarah Brooks.
Adams believed her side was a lot different to what they were in round 6 in terms of their form.
With both the Blues and the Roos desperate to make an appearance in finals, the game has the ability to fall either way, and will likely come down to who can keep their composure under pressure.
