General News
8 August, 2019
Magpies break into top five
CAMPERDOWN’S open netball side has set up a mouth-watering clash with South Warrnambool tomorrow after easily defeating Hamilton Kangaroos last Saturday.
CAMPERDOWN’S open netball side has set up a mouth-watering clash with South Warrnambool tomorrow after easily defeating Hamilton Kangaroos last Saturday.
The Magpies moved into the top five after downing the Kangaroos 64-35 at Melville Oval, with fifth spot up for grabs in their clash against the Roosters.
Coach Brooke Richardson said there was plenty to like about her side’s performance in what was a “good win”.
She said the Magpies showed improvement in their ability to maintain their performance for the game’s duration, something that had been an issue throughout the season.
“We were really able to put the pressure on up the court to cause turnovers and intercepts so I was really happy with that,” she said.
“Our main focus was on playing four very strong quarters, so we were setting ourselves a goal each quarter to achieve and trying to remain focussed for 15 minutes.
“We shot 14 goals in the first, 16 in the second, 16 in the third and finished with 13 in the last which was good.
“In previous games it’s been the second or third quarter we’ve lost our heads and let other sides back in, whereas this time it was the second and third quarters we pulled away which was good.”
The first quarter was a close affair between the two sides, before the Magpies started to pull away in the game’s middle periods.
They built a sizeable lead and continued to run away with the match, as Amanda Gilbert (40 goals) and Jess Cameron (24) combined well in the absence of Krystal Baker in the goal circle.
Up the other end Emma Wright and Caitlin Hall were both influential with the pair preventing numerous Hamilton attacks as the Magpies secured a 29 goal win.
“We were only up by two at quarter time so at that stage I was thinking it was going to be quite tough,” Richardson said.
“But in the second quarter we ran away 16-8 and in the third 16-7 and that came from our pressure all over the court which was fantastic and also great shooting from the girls.
“I think they only missed one goal in the second and then Amanda missed two and Jess missed one in the third, but they had a really good shooting percentage which was good.”
The Magpies are now setting themselves for a showdown with South Warrnambool, with the victor to move a step closer to securing a finals berth.
But Richardson said the Magpies must avoid a repeat of their performance in their early season loss to the same side if they are to come away with the four points.
“We know it’s going to be really tough, they’re a very good side,” she said.
“Last time we were up by three at quarter time and then down by nine at half-time so we can’t afford to do that this time.
“We’ll go in focussing on our game and making sure we’re not getting distracted by what they’re doing for four quarters.
“The last couple of weeks have been a good lead-up to this weekend which is exciting for the girls.”