Take a deep breath and push the calculators to one side – City West Falcons will be minor premiers in the Victorian Netball League championship division.
Only a swing of unrealistic proportions in the final two rounds would see them give up top ranking.
Falcons’ coach Marg Lind is not too fussed whether her side is ranked first or second, as the top two battle it out in week one of the finals for a direct passage to the grand final.
“You want to finish one or two, where you get the double chance; that’s the major benefit,” Lind told Star Weekly.
“In a sense, it’s a bit of a reward if you finish on top for a good season; it’s a reflection of how well you’ve gone.
“It’s not easy to win the minor premiership and the benefits are more from a mental point of view. We’re not after the minor premiership; we really want to win in the finals.”
The Falcons know all too well a minor premiership means nothing in a cut-throat finals. They went through last season undefeated before losing in the grand final.
“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves,” Lind said.
The Falcons are undoubtedly the form team of the competition.
Last year’s runners-up sit two games and a hefty wad of percentage points clear on top of the ladder.
Players have answered every challenge to date, including some physical battles thrown down by fearless opponents.
“We didn’t see ourselves as the stand-out team and we’ve done better than expected,” Lind said.
“We’ve had a really good season, but we perceive ourselves as a building team.
“Coming into the finals, we’re still pretty raw, so it’s a whole new ball game there.
“I think there’s still a sense of not getting ahead of ourselves and continuing to work hard and manage the team and the load as well as we can.”
The Falcons had a 69-44 win over Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels at the State Netball and Hockey Centre on Wednesday night.
This win all but locked up the top spot for them.
Kath Knott landed 39 goals from 41 attempts, while Steph Tyrell placed 30 from 36.
The Falcons’ front line is firing on all cylinders at the right end of the season.
And they’ve done it without their Vixens- aligned players and without star mid-courter Clare Moylan, who has been out with an ankle injury.
Moylan is in doubt for tonight’s clash with Geelong Cougars at the SNHC, starting at 7.
“She’s a player who really gets involved in the play, so she needs to be 100 per cent before we put her back in,” Lind said.
“The young ones who have come up from division one have done really well, so that’s a good sign.”
