CONTINUAL improvement will be the key aim when the Bendigo Pioneers Talent League Girls team takes to the Swan Hill Recreation Reserve this Sunday against the GWV Rebels.
After an encouraging performance against the Calder Cannons last Saturday, the Pioneers will be hoping to continue that trend when they face off against the Rebels for the second time this season.
It was a less than ideal result for the Pioneers back in round 2, with the Rebels recording a 90-point win over Bendigo that afternoon.
That was just the Pioneers second game together as a squad, with head coach Whitney Kennedy confident that her team will have learnt their lessons from their earlier encounter.
“The Rebels will absolutely take it up to us, we know that, they’re here to compete and they want to put out the best performance that they can as well I’m sure,” Kennedy told The Guardian this week.
“I think the thing that we can probably take out of that last game is that we know that the greater our pressure is, the more opportunities that will create for us.
“That’s going to be something we go into the game with a clear focus on, to really ramp up and try and capitalise off those opportunities that we get.
“We know that our disposal efficiency has been a key focus area and we just want to try and be a little more careful and cautious and make better decisions with the ball in hand.
“We have a game style that we want to execute, but I think the main thing is that we want to be able to do the basics well and if we can do them better than what we did last time we played against the Rebels, then hopefully we’ll come away feeling a lot better than last time.”
Among those to watch are local girls Issy Boulton and Nevaeh Roberts, along with under-16 girls squad member Sunny Barry, who will be making her Coates Talent League debut on Sunday.
Barry’s debut will come in front of her friends and family for the Woorinen Girls footballer, with Roberts also set to play her first Coates Talent League match of the season.
But it’s Boulton who is set to catch the eyes of locals, with Kennedy hoping for another standout performance from her fledgling star.
“Issy’s (Boulton) absolutely firing, she’s been in our best players in three of five games so far and she is flying,” Kennedy said.
“The thing with Issy is that she’s training with the intensity that she needs to play with and because her training standards have been really impressive, it’s no surprise that it’s been transitioning into games.
“Her level of competitiveness is great, her running ability has just improved out of sight and we know that in the girls game now it’s one of the non-negotiables, is that you have to be able to run and cover the ground and cover it with speed, and she’s doing that.
“I really hope the Swan Hill community get there to watch her, because she’s such a great example of a local Swan Hill girl who’s worked really hard, having realised the opportunity that she has in front of her.
“You know, she’s utilising feedback that she’s being given. She’s making changes to her performance and her game, her preparation or training, and she just continues to get better.
“So I couldn’t think of a greater role model for female football in Swan Hill.”
Also among the players to watch will be Bendigo Pioneers captain and ruck Ava Bibby, along with onballers Georgia Garlick, Ella Jeffrey and Lacey Nihill.
While football is often based and wins and losses, the Coates Talent League is a very different beast, with player development the key metric used to guide success according to Kennedy.
“The scoreboard is no concern to us, our program is about developing talent and that is our primary objective,” Kennedy said.
“Our program is about creating good people and so that when they leave our program, no matter what football pathway they take, whether it’s at the highest level, whether it’s VFLW or playing local footy, coaching or being a part of a committee, then they’re coming out of our program with a higher level of knowledge on the game.
“But not only that, they’re also coming out with other skills, like really good leadership qualities and they’ve been a part of a program that’s really well functioning.”
