Tara Murray
City West Falcons were able to avenge an early Victorian Netball League championship loss to the Geelong Cougars on Wednesday.
The Falcons only loss this season came back in round one to the Cougars, in the first of the grand final rematches.
On Wednesday night in the second of those rematches, the Falcons were able to turn the tables and come away with a 67-58 win.
Falcons coach Marg Lind said it wasn’t either team’s best performance, but it was good to still come away with the win.
“We chipped away at it,” she said. “We had a game plan and stuck to the strategy against them and it played out nicely.
“It wasn’t our best game, they are different to a lot of other teams.”
Lind and the coaches made a number of changes throughout the game to get the right connections.
With the Cougars having a small shooting circle, the Falcons looked to match them.
“We started Sienna [Allen] at goalkeeper, but we were too tall and their smalls were too quick.
“We then had Zoe [Davies] back and Sophie [Hanrahan] out the front, we ended up reversing that and were more settled.
“When Daisy O’Kane came on in the last quarter we brought Sienna back on and she took and intercept straight away.”
Jane Cook shot 57 goals from 58 attempts in another strong game under the ring.
Lind said Cook, who was a question mark going into the game due to illness, started slowly before building into the game
She said it was a big step forward for her against Brooke Allan, who has had some good performances on her in the past.
Lind said overall it was a really good team performance for a second straight week.
One of the most pleasing things for Lind was the way that the players who were on the bench stayed ready for when they got their chance.
“Lucia Fauonuku did a really good job in delaying the midcourt,” she said.
“She took a crucial intercept after coming from nowhere in the third quarter and it really lifted the spirit of the team, it was the turning point for us.
“Uneeq [Palavi] was heaps better when she came back on in the last quarter. She was sick as well.”
The win means the Falcons have beaten every team this season. Lind said they needed to keep pressing and wouldn’t die wondering as they push for three premierships, in the last year of the current VNL format.
Next week the Falcons face second-placed Boroondara Express, in a top of the table clash.
Meanwhile, Collingwood’s Suncorp Super Netball team has made the decision to withdraw its licence at the end of this year.
Before the announcement, the Geelong Cougars denied speculation that they would replace the Magpies if they made that call.
Lind said the Falcons, who have been one of the most successful teams in the VNL and have a strong junior set up with the Altona Netball Association, said they would love to have a team.
“If we had the backers supporting us, we would love to do it,” she said. “We would love to have the red, white and blue in SSN.”
