SWAN Hill have continued to press their claims for a finals berth after defeating an understrength Cohuna Kangas by nine goals on the weekend.
The Kangas went into the match without experienced duo Carly Geary and Danni Bird with the Swans taking full advantage to record back-to-back wins for the second time this season.
The 43-34 victory sees Swan Hill move two games clear of the sixth placed Kangas in the fight for a top five berth, with the Swans joining Koondrook-Barham on five wins for the season ahead of this Saturday’s bye.
It was a strong performance from the Swans, with coach Casey Frame impressed with her team’s full court effort in a match where fifth spot was effectively on the line for both teams.
“It was probably one of the best, if not the best game that we’ve played this season, I feel,” Frame said after the match.
“We knew we needed to play well because Cohuna are a strong team and were always going to come out hard.
“Tanner Edwards in centre is a beautiful player for them; she controlled the play and called the shots for them and led them very well with their ball movement forward, but I thought Karli McIntyre did an amazing job on her at the same time.
“Our goalies shot really well, our mids did exactly what we asked of them and played a strong, assertive and aggressive game and our defenders just worked hard for the whole four quarters.
“It was a real team effort and definitely a big confidence booster, that’s for sure.”
Frame singled out two of her younger players for special praise, with goal keeper Jaya Jenkins-Jaiswal among the Swans’ better players after securing several key rebounds, while Miela Roberts, who is still eligible for the under 15s, again stood up and fed Ava Seymour (23 goals) and Kelly Bonney (20 goals) with clean ball all match.
Paige O’Connell was named best for the Kangas, with the young goal keeper stepping in for Geary and helping to nullify the influence of the dangerous Bonney.
Marli Easton was also singled out by Cohuna coach Georgia Anderson for her attitude and grit in the defeat, with the Kangas coach confident her team can turn their fortunes around in the second half of the season with a full team at their disposal.
“When we have our full side, we are such a great outfit,” Anderson said.
“Unfortunately we’ve only had a couple of games with our full side this season, which is hard and disheartening for the us and the club.
“We have to push through regardless and we need to work on the challenges we face and with such great players we should still be showcasing good netball and coming away with wins.
“Defensively we were fantastic again, we have a lot of depth there so we can get by when we are down, but our goaling end is where we have gaps.
“I’m still so proud of the girls’ attitudes and we’re going to go away and reflect and plan for next week.”
The challenges don’t get much easier for the Kangas, who will face third placed Woorinen in a must-win game this Saturday, while Swan Hill will take on Balranald at Greenham Park in a fortnight’s time.
FINAL WHISTLE
| Swan Hill | 43 |
| Cohuna | 34 |
