The City West Falcons will have to respond to its most disappointing performance in years if they are to keep alive their hopes of a fourth straight Victorian Netball League grand final.
The Falcons were left shell shocked on Wednesday as the Hawks put on a stunning display to not only beat the Falcons, but earn the first grand final spot.
There was only one goal between the teams at quarter time in the major semi final, before the Hawks started to take control.
Every time the Falcons looked like making a comeback, the Hawks had the answers.
The Hawks pressure increased in the final quarter as the Falcons crumbled to lose 60-49.
Falcons coach Marg Lind said nothing went right across the whole court.
“I don’t think defensively we stuck to the plan,” she said. “We played safe netball and we had no attack on the ball so we couldn’t turn the ball over especially in the first half.
“We went away from what we wanted to do and that was a lack of communication on the defenders end.
“Jane [Cook] wasn’t strong enough on the hold and we didn’t let the ball go. The speed of our game is what gets us the score.
“It was a terrible scoreline for us.”
Lind said it was frustrating seeing basic mistakes like stepping, fumbling or throwing the ball into hands. She said they struggled to find any winners across the court.
Lind said once things didn’t go their way, they didn’t just get on with it and let things dwell.
Cook finished with 47 goals for the Falcons.
The loss was compounded by injury concerns to co-captain Maggie Lind.
Lind, who has played limited in recent weeks, left the court in the third quarter after having treatment on her lower leg at all the breaks.
The Falcons, who are still alive due to a double chance, face a challenge they haven’t faced in a long time.
The last time the Falcons lost by more than 10 goals was in round 13 in 2022.
The loss on Wednesday night was only the third loss for the Falcons since that match and the last of those had been in round one last year.
The Falcons will face Boroondara Express for the second time in three weeks in the preliminary final.
“We will see how we regroup and see how the players take on Express,” Lind said. “The Express aren’t going to start as poorly as last week.
“It’s going to be a totally different team that we are playing, with a different attitude.”
The Falcons 23 and under side has been knocked out after a semi final loss to the Melbourne University Lightning. 64-47.
Lind said the side did well to make the top four but their inexperience shone against the Lightning, which is a pretty experienced outfit.
