CITY West Falcons coach Marg Lind has a real juggling act on her hands over the next month in the Victorian Netball League championship division.
The Falcons sealed a top-two finish and a double chance with a solid 53-46 win over the improving Geelong Cougars at the State Netball and Hockey Centre on Wednesday night.
But the biggest challenge for Lind will come in the management of the workload on her players in the finals run-in with an inconsistent draw and up to six of her stars in the training squad for Victorian Fury selection.
“It’s very tricky at the moment,” she told the Weekly. “We don’t like holding back. We always like to go out with all guns blazing. At the same time, we’re better to play it safe.”
Lind has built up a level of trust with her players to be honest and upfront about how their minds and bodies are feeling.
Casey Price alerted her to a niggling injury and was the first Falcon to sit out as a precautionary measure in the latest game.
Danni Stewart copped a knock to the knee mid-game against the Cougars and no risks were taken with one of their most valuable assets.
It is the luxury of being a game and percentage clear on top of the ladder.
There are also outside influences at play that could have a negative impact on the usually smooth Falcons operation.
They have a nightmare end to the season with two games in four days and both are against potential finalists. The club has to take some of the blame with one of those games being a twilight showdown with Peninsula Waves at the Altona Sports Centre on Sunday.
The bringing forward of that game throws up another headache. The last game of the regular season and their first of the finals will be a long one because the VNL has scheduled a break after the home-and-away rounds to accommodate under-21 state representative commitments. It’s a catch 22 for the Falcons: will it serve as a handy break to rest up their bodies after a long and testing campaign, or will it break their form and the momentum they have built in the second half of the season?
“As long as we get some decent match practice in, we should be right,” Lind said.
The Falcons had to work a lot harder than most would have tipped to mow over the Cougars and have a top-two finish under lock and key.
Lind takes some of the blame for the somewhat nervy ending after the Falcons had stormed to a 12-goal lead after three quarters. “As the game went on, we felt we were comfortable,” she said. “We just tried a few combinations at the end. It’s important to know that we’re covered in all positions so I tried a few different things.”
Demi Woodlock was the Falcons’ best on court. She totally shut out Cougars goal attack Olivia Cameron with 16 interceptions.
