Strikers look to quickly regroup

THREE wins ahead of a group of four teams chasing a VNL Championship finals berth with three games to play, Bendigo Strikers appear safe.

But just where they will end up in the pecking order come the end of the home and away season remains anyone’s guess.

The situation became no clearer following a 16-goal loss to perennial contender City West Falcons at Mercy Junortoun Sports Precinct on Sunday.

Mind you, a win would not exactly have brought clarity either to their final minor round season placing.

But it would have guaranteed their path to finals, with six teams qualifying.

A 53-69 loss left the Strikers in fifth spot at 9-6, yet they remain within two wins of second-placed Casey Demons (11-4), and one in arrears of North East Blaze and Falcons (both 10-5).

Albeit a disappointing loss to the Falcons, powered by a 60-goal haul by VNL powerhouse Jane Cook, there have been costlier ones for the Strikers.

“It was always going to be a tough game, with Falcons sitting fourth and us fifth; both teams trying to make sure they kept winning to cement finals,” coach Tracey Brereton said.

“I don’t think the scores reflect how competitive the game was, especially after half-time.

“Up to half-time we were OK, but after that we dropped off.

“The first time we played them at the start of the year, they had a couple of players out.

“Maggie Lind came back in, so that helped their structure and they’re a very experienced team. I mean they’ve won the last three championships, so you’d be doing well to beat them twice in a year.

“They were just more clinical with the ball.

“Once we cleaned up and executed what we needed to do, we were really good and could find momentum and put scoreboard pressure on.

 

“Unfortunately, we just couldn’t sustain that and they hurt us on the scoreboard when the errors crept in.”

Down by seven goals at half-time, the door was still slightly ajar for the Strikers at three-quarter-time, trailing by 10 goals.

But 10 final-quarter goals to the Falcons, matched by a ruthless and meticulous defensive effort, ensured their earlier good work was rewarded.

While Cook’s 60 goals – and just one miss – leap off the page, Brereton conceded the Falcons had imposed themselves in all areas of the court, hence her mention of the word ‘clinical’.

“You have to understand that Jane (Cook) is going to score and score heavily; you have to accept that, but it’s what we do to try to turn the ball over before it gets there or put the pressure on,” she said.

“We still had eight and seven turnovers in the first and second quarters … (we) still had some gains.

“They were just better at hurting us with every chance they got as the game went on.”

Brereton said there were still plenty of bright spots for the Strikers, who were looking to sew up a second straight Championship finals appearance with a victory over Geelong Cougars on Wednesday night.

“Once we followed the game plan and hurt them a bit more on the scoreboard, we looked good,” she said.

“Sometimes I feel the youngness of our group is coming out. We have seven or eight girls who can still play 23s and some of the girls who have come in are first-year Champs players.

“It’s not an excuse, but when you put it together, maybe that is one of the reasons for our inconsistency, or not being able to finish off four quarters of netball.

“But we are only going to be better for it in the future for exposing the kids and we are still in the top six.

“We have been winning games (in recent weeks) by one or two, which is a big tick, but it’s when it starts to get away from us that we have to find a way to pull it back and still compete.

“We can’t play catch-up, we have to start strong. It’s as simple as that.”

A rarity through the first 15 games of the season, the Strikers had access to a full lineup of players, with the exception of Charlotte Sexton, fresh off her debut Suncorp Super Netball season with Melbourne Mavericks.

 

The Strikers will play one more home game at Junortoun, against Casey Demons on Sunday 12 July.