Tara Murray
City West Falcons put on an entertaining display against the Ariels as they continued their winning ways in the Victorian Netball League championship division.
Playing in the late time slot, the Falcons overcame a slow first five minutes to run away with an 81-39 win on Wednesday night.
Falcons coach Marg Lind said they were pretty happy with the result.
“We started off a bit slow and were over using the ball,” she said. “Once we settled we were OK.
“We then set our own goals, as thought ahead to percentage. So we worked towards getting 80 goals and keeping them under 40.
“It was something to focus on and in the end it was a pretty entertaining game.”
With the margin blowing out, the Falcons rotated their squad around with everyone playing at least a half.
Lind said they took the opportunity to try some different combinations and roles.
“We played Maggie [Lind] in centre and gave Montana [Holmes] and Soli [Ropati] another go in wing attack.
“It’s something they are getting better at and having Maggie there saying what she would do helps. They all offer something different.
“Sarah [Szczykulski] played in goal defence. She plays in goal defence in the mixed competition, so we thought we could see what she could do.”
Lind said they all played well with Uneeq Palavi playing an entertaining game in goals. She said the crowd loved watching someone, who was clearly having fun on court.
“She was having a joyful night,” she said. “She had a fall way shot that went swish and was quite entertaining.
“That was the icing on the cake.”
It was a clean sweep for the Falcons against the Ariels, with the division 1 and under-19s teams both getting wins.
All three teams are sitting inside the top four, with one match left of the first match ups between the sides.
The Falcons will be at home at Altona next week against Boroondara Express.
Lind said after a big crowd in round one they were hoping to get plenty of fans to watch them.
Tickets are $5 and entry is free for under-6s with action starting from 7pm.
