| Wendy Roberts |
With the season facts of Broadford’s performance so far, the A grade team collected their physical skills and created the mindset to beat them in court play and win the game.
Woodend/Hesket knew how to play against them having won both games in 2018. A disciplined forward attacking game, seven defenders applying pressure, supporting and encouraging each other.
At the commencement of the game, with the court wet underfoot, the Hawks kept speed on their forward leads and variation of pass release. Tara, Maddy and Gracie moved the ball into winning positions and goals being scored.
Abbey and Ally worked tight in defence while Shannon, Abbey and Brittany kept making second effort leads through the mid-court which linked into direct forward leads into the attacking third. This allowed Woodend/Hesket to keep possession of the ball and continue to score goals.
This lineup kept working hard into the second quarter, never relaxing on moving the ball around, to keep possession of the ball while space was being created to score goals. Gracie repositioned when finding herself too high in mid-court which allowed her to drive again with Brittany.
From past experience, Broadford is a team that will present something different, either more aggression on the player or verbally louder. However, entering the third quarter it brought on a new shooter that took Ally by surprise and unsettled the team. Ally was warned by the umpire, not that it worried us, she was just doing her job and by the end of the quarter she had figured her out. Broadford won this quarter.
Going into the final 15-minutes, Macca was brought on with fresh legs into WD. This was a good decision, as the WA had been working hard against Shannon. With Macca tagging her straight leads, she took interceptions, picked up loose balls from pressured passes that was meant for her opponent.
Maddy Staresina kept her leadership calmness reminding the team to score goals from our centre passes and that the game was ours.
We knew this game was going to be a challenge, however, we also knew if we played a skilled game, kept our heads calm, the umpires and Broadford would know that we were the stronger team.
It’s been a challenging season so far, having played against strong clubs which helped us with this well deserved win. When this A Grade team sticks to what works, which is forward direct leads and working the ball around to find space with second effort leads and all players defending, there is success on the scoreboard.
The challenge now is to keep working hard in preparation for Rockbank, playing our game and believing that our style of game is a success. Go Hawks!
Last Modified on 18/06/2019 08:09