Tara Murray
City West Falcons were made to work against the Hawks for their third straight win in the Victorian Netball League championship division on Sunday.
Playing at home for the first time this season, the Falcons jumped out of the blocks in the first half to open up a big lead.
The Hawks responded in the second half bringing the margin back to two goals. The Falcons were able to hold on, winning 51-49.
Falcons coach Marg Lind said it was good to be back in front of their home crowd. She said the margin could have quite easily been a lot bigger.
“We got the win, but it should have got an even better win,” she said.
“We went out hard early and then the Hawks responded and turned it into a bum fight. They made some changes and we took our foot off the pedal.
“You can’t give times like the Hawks opportunities like that. A win is a win.”
Lind said her players had moments of good play, but there really wasn’t a standout performer.
She highlighted an intercept from Soli Ropati in the dying minutes as a key moment in sealing the win, while Mel Oloamanu, who played at goalkeeper, was good at times against Natalie Billings.
The Falcons defence is set for a boost this week with Sarah Szczykulski returning from injury.
The win has the Falcons sitting second on the ladder, one of two teams without a loss this season.
The Falcons division 1 had their first win on Sunday, beating the Hawks 59-41.
Lind said they put faith in some of the young players, while some of their leaders really stood up.
The under-19 team lost 52-48 after leading at half time by a goal.
All three Falcons sides have a short turn around, as they face the Blaze on Wednesday night.
Lind said while they were travelling nicely, they had a few danger games coming up in the next few weeks.
“We don’t have time to prepare,” she said of this week’s game. “It’s a bit of a challenge.
Lind said the key for the group the next few weeks would be looking to manage their minutes and workloads, with other netball commitments thrown in as well.
She said they would look to use the rolling sub rule a bit more.
“Sometimes we forget about it,” she said.
“We have to maximise it a bit more.”
