Tara Murray
The City West Falcons championship side will enter the finals on the back of a strong performance, while their under-23s did enough to secure their spot in the Victorian Netball League.
For the championship side they were keen to continue building on their good form, which has seen them lose one game for the season.
The Falcons already knew they would finish top and were able to come away with an 86-59 win.
Falcons coach Marg Lind said they were pretty happy after a slow start. The highlight was Jane Cook shooting her 1000th goal for the season.
“We didn’t get off to the best of starts and we thought oh it might not happen [the 1000th goal] but once we settled we were really good.
“The team has been all around it, been keeping an eye on it. Really pleased for her.”
Lind said they were happy to get everyone on and look at a few different combinations.
They were able to rest a few of their stars in the final quarter.
One positive was getting Uneeq Palavi back on court after being in the Suncorp Super Netball with the New South Wales Swifts the last three weeks.
“We love having her and she loves being here,” Lind said.
The under-23s started the night in a winning fashion, beating the Demons, 68-43.
After four straight losses, the Falcons needed to win to ensure they played finals.
“They got off a good start, it made a big difference,” Lind said. “Minimised errors and played a lot better in the attack end I thought.
“We didn’t roll the dice as much and probably kept the combinations a bit more settled. I think it made a difference in such a young team.”
The championship side will face Boroondara Express this week with a grand final spot on the line.
The under-23s will face the North East Blaze in a knock out semi final
Lind was a keen observer of the Express’ game on Wednesday night. The Express are the only team to beat the Falcons this season, back in round one by one goal.
They had a bit of a hard game against Blaze,” she said.” But they got through and are pretty determined, that will be interesting.
“We’ve probably got a more fresh line up. Finals are a different kettle of fish, got to go hard and go early.
“We’re in a good position, now we have to do it.”
