THE ability to defend is where Saturday’s highly anticipated clash between Tooleybuc-Manangatang and Koondrook-Barham is likely to be won, according to both coaches.
Both the Saints and Raiders are locked in very different battles for their finals futures, with Koondrook-Barham’s five-game winning streak seeing them climb to second on the ladder.
Tooleybuc-Manangatang have also had a mid-season revival, with the Saints needing to win their final two matches to ensure they keep the fast-finishing Cohuna from behind them in the race for fifth place.
It has been a meteoric rise for both clubs this season after they both finished last and second last on the ladder, with Koondrook-Barham co-coach Emma Peacock telling The Guardian her club has been embracing their new found success in recent weeks.
“It’s been very exciting for the club and it’s a position that I don’t think any of us thought might have been possible at the start of the season,” Peacock said.
“To be second as we are is a bit surreal because at the start of the season we were just hoping to make finals and now we’re in the midst of it.
“We obviously have to maintain the wins for the rest of the season both this Saturday and next week.
“This week’s probably my biggest concern because they (Tooleybuc-Manangatang) have been playing some great netball, but we’ll have our full strength side in and it will be good to see how we go against a more competitive side and see if we really do have what it takes for finals.”
Tooleybuc-Manangatang will also go in at full strength with the return of Amy Standen in recent weeks giving the Saints midcourt an extra dimension.
The Saints play a very modern style of netball, with short sharp passes helping them to maintain possession of the ball and work it from one end of the court to the other with precision and effectiveness.
It’s in Koondrook-Barham’s defensive third where Tooleybuc-Manangatang will focus, according to senior coach Mel Wait, who knows the combination of the Peacock sisters and Larney Allan is a formidable one.
“It would be great for us to get the win on Saturday but we know we’re going to have to work hard with Sophie Peacock back in their team,” Wait said.
“With the two Peacock sisters together in that defensive end, we have to play smart netball and try not to give them any opportunity to turn the ball over, because that’s what they like to do.
“Any pass that’s a little bit off they really pounce on and make you pay.
“We were well beaten by them last time and we really weren’t prepared for the style of game that they played, but it’s the ability of Emma and Sophie (Peacock) to hunt the ball that we will be watching closely and trying to nullify.”
It will be a different Koondrook-Barham combination that confronts the Saints to the one which claimed a 13-goal win against them back in round 6.
Defender Larney Allen partnered Erin Moerenhout in attack that day and while the pair had great success as a combination, the Raiders have instead preferred Sophie Disher at goal attack in recent weeks.
That has allowed Allen to return to defence and partner Sophie Peacock, who herself missed with injury earlier in the year.
Tooleybuc-Manangatang will also look very different, with Zoe Morris returning to play full time since that afternoon in a move which has transformed the Saints goal circle.
For Emma Peacock, Saturday’s match is likely to be won and lost at either end of the court, with her team’s ability to defend Morris and Summer Blachford set to be a key factor in the result.
I think our defence is our strongest side but we also have a very competitive offence and that’ll be what will win us the game,” Peacock said.
“I feel our offence is where we might have an advantage potentially and that’s where we’ll most likely win it, but the competition is going to be down in our defensive end.
“With Sophie (Peacock) back in the team, I think we’ll have a good chance to get on top of them.”
