The last couple of weeks haven't been much fun as nobody likes losing, however there have been enough positives to come out of those matches to allow us to be optimistic. At least we now know the standards we've got to reach to be successful, and we believe we are more than capable of doing that.

Whilst Vlad, Nixy and Fiona can instruct us on how to get the win (like we should have done at Bunbury) or how to not let other teams get away to flying starts (as we did in a couple of other games) it's not until you go through the experience that you fully appreciate their advice. On reflection it makes you realise how important it is to act on their instructions during the match. Just little things like making the extra pass and the extra effort on defence after we've scored, so we don't give up our advantage, and our hard work can be the difference.

I'm not much of a fan of stats but browsing through ours last week, the thing that stood out to me was the fact that for every one of our girls our current season's stats are the best of our careers, and shows our improvement week to week. The player l believe this stands out the most with is our captain Fiona Madden. Sure she's getting more opportunities this year, but each week she gets to match up on the biggest (often much bigger) player in the opposition. You don't need to look at her stats to know what a great job she does for the team-- and she's just one of many players who I could say this about.

At the start of the season most of the experts predicted it was going to be a "long" season for us, and personally I hope it is, because the longer it goes the better we're going to get. I don't know how long it is since a Stirling team made the final eight but for this team it remains a realistic goal and one we're more than capable of achieving.

A special mention for Ellen who was seriously injured in the East Perth game. Injuries of this nature are always tough but even more-so when you're young and worked so hard in pre-season and ready to establish yourself in the SBL comp. Hang in there Ellen, you're still very much a part of the team, we admire your hard work in the gym! And we look forward to having you back on court soon. On a brighter note Super mum Kelly Ellis is about to start training soon. It'll be great to have her back around the squad and will be a huge boost to team morale. Should make for interesting times in the Ellis household in the lead up to the Redback games!

Thanks once again to everyone at the club we appreciate your support and encouragement and look forward to giving you lots more to cheer about in future games.

Article by Stirling Senators