Matt Hewson
South Barwon A grade netballers will face Colac this weekend in the first of two consecutive games the sides will play in two weeks after the Swans triumphed convincingly over Bell Park last Sunday.
Thanks to the victory and Colac’s loss to Newtown & Chilwell, South Barwon currently sits in second on the ladder, equal on points with the third-placed Colac and St Albans in fourth but significantly ahead of both on percentage.
With St Albans having completed their fixtures for the season, this week’s contest in Colac is largely for bragging rights, as the Swans and Tigers will occupy second and third regardless of the outcome.
However, given the two teams are locked in to play the qualifying final the week after, this week’s game could set the tone for both sides’ finals campaigns.
South Barwon coach Jordee Nichols said the back-to-back games against the Tigers could be viewed as either a positive or a negative.
“We’ve got to play them two weeks in a row, which could be good or bad, but we’ll go in looking at it positively,” she said.
“The first team we played them this season and won in Colac there was a Cougars game the next day, so both sides were managing players and probably didn’t have their best players on the court for the full four quarters.
“So it’s going to be really interesting to see how it goes this Saturday with both teams at full-strength. I think it’ll be a good chance for both teams to suss each other out and see what we need to work on for the following game.”
Nichols said she and her players had nothing but respect for Colac, and despite the friendships between the two playing groups the two games would be intense battles.
“We’re under no illusions it’s going to be easy [for the first game in Colac],” she said.
“They’re amazing, the whole Colac club. And while we’re all really good friends off the court we’re super competitive.
“Their defensive end is very, very strong and they’re a huge four-quarter team, they literally never go away. You could be 10, 15 goals up and never feel safe. They’re extremely fit, they always run out a full game and just keep coming.
“It’ll be hard to beat them twice in a row, but it’ll be hard for either team to win twice in a row here. It’s a good challenge to have and I couldn’t be prouder of the girls for getting themselves in a position to get the second chance considering we weren’t even in finals last year.”
