Bloods set sights on BFNL top three

SOUTH Bendigo coach Lauren Bowles says her side will relish the chance to test themselves against one of the BFNL’s benchmark teams in Gisborne.

Making no secret of their desire to bridge the gap on the league’s top three, the Bloods will get an early second-half of season opportunity to show what they are capable of at Gardiner Reserve this Saturday.

The Bloods joined the Bulldogs on 6-3 following 63-44 victory over Strathfieldsaye at Harry Trott Oval last Saturday, hours before Gisborne succumbed to Kangaroo Flat for the second time this season.

A convincing win was led by another powerful shooting performance by Gabe Richards, who missed just one shot for the game.

It was the perfect response to a 33-goal loss to top side Kangaroo Flat in their last outing in round 8.

 

“We had some pretty honest reflections after Kangaroo Flat – it wasn’t the style of netball we want to play,” Bowles said.

“We got back to training, worked hard and spoke about the need for more communication and way more intensity and I thought we brought it (against Storm).

“Our turnovers were the lowest we’ve had all year and any time you are going to get 60 goals and Gabe only misses one goal for the match, you know you are doing pretty well as a team.”

While she is confident the Bloods have taken another step up this season, Bowles was just as sure that the Storm had too.

 

“They are a quality side. We only won by a couple of goals earlier in the season, so we knew we had to bring it from the get-go,” she said.

“Our third quarter (which the Storm won 18-11) wasn’t ideal, but I’m really proud of how we adjusted to that and tried some new combinations across the court.

“We got Olivia Mason out there and Sarah Nash; they are some quality A-reserve girls who can easily step up and do their role.”

Encouragingly, it was Mason’s first game back in A-grade since sustaining an ACL injury in 2024.

“She was a bit nervous, but I thought she played really beautifully,” Bowles said.

 

“Drove well and opened up the court.

“I’m a happy coach, I feel the second half of the year we are really focusing on improving on what we have done in the first half.

“We don’t want to be content with just making finals, we’re really pushing for a top three finish this year.

“We understand Kangaroo Flat is certainly up there, but I feel the gap is narrowing with Gisborne and Sandhurst.

“People want a competitive top five and they’ll come and watch it.”

In a full team effort, goal attack Izzy Coutts drove and feed well and backed herself in to shoot with accuracy, while Tegan Elliston shone at centre.

 

Named in the BFNL team of the half year, Annie Hughes was again a standout at goal attack for the Storm, who were without their playing coach Jess Mangan and midcourter Rachelle Mangan.

Despite the loss, the Storm maintained fifth spot on the ladder, albeit with Golden Square moving within one win in sixth spot following an 80-39 win over Castlemaine at Wade Street.

The Bulldogs overtook Eaglehawk (now seventh) following the Hawks’ 68-31 loss to Sandhurst.

The Dragons dominated all four quarters, but were particularly ruthless in the last, winning the term 21-7.