Tigers eager to return to winner’s list

BANNOCKBURN is eager to get back into the winner’s column after sustaining a pair of narrow losses in its past two outings.

The Tigers sit inside the Geelong & District Netball League top five with six wins from 10 contests, which is a good run according to the club’s A Grade playing-coach Alana Nicol, as her side prepares to take on Geelong West away tomorrow (Saturday, June 22).

“We’ve started off well with a lot of wins. We’ve played the three top teams as well, so we’ve been able to measure ourselves against the best the comp has to offer,” Nicol said.

“We were close to beating an undefeated Corio side, going down by three goals, but the only thing that is causing us a little bit of strife is our turnovers, which will be a focus for us in the back-half of the season.”

Bannockburn’s scoring end has been a major highlight for the Tigers, with shooters Ella Wasik and Tamara Watts putting up solid numbers at the net.

Erin Dillon has also been a standout in Nicol’s eyes following the births of her children and return to the sport.

Nicol said Rosie Shanahan was still one to two weeks away with an ankle injury, while Grace Bath has already been ruled out for the remainder of the 2024 season with a torn ACL.

Bannockburn’s playing-coach sees tomorrow’s matchup with the Giants as a good chance to get some form back in the side, with games becoming more important with eight games to go.

“I’m 100 per cent confident our side will compete for the remainder of the season and that starts with Geelong West,” Nicol said.

“Last season we were unlucky to miss out on finals, but we had a terrible start to the year. We were 0-6 by Round 7, but we’ve had a bit of a turnaround this year compared to last.

“It’s really important we’re accountable for the ball for the remainder of the season and our goalers have remained accurate which is a massive help.”

Bannockburn’s clash at West Oval begins at 3.15pm on the main court, before hosting Anakie at Bannockburn Recreation Reserve next weekend.