With fourth spot locked away and next to no chance of climbing up to third, Geelong West Giants coach Dale Smith says this weekend’s clash against St Joseph’s is a perfect lead-in to the Geelong Netball League finals.
The Giants are fresh from a 16-goal win against fifth placed St Mary’s and the two teams will meet each in the elimination final, but first, Joeys stands in the way.
“I think this is a really important game for us against Joeys,” Smith said.
“They’re the second (placed) team and from my perspective, it’s really good playing two finalists in the last two weeks.
“You find out where your team is at and you put them under some pressure. We want to make some mistakes and get some things wrong before two weeks’ time.
“It’s better to make those errors now. We’re certainly not going to take our foot off the accelerator.”
Wing defence Eloise Ritchie is unavailable for this Saturday’s game, but other than that, Geelong West is putting together its strongest side at the right time of year.
“She’s away for a wedding and you can’t time things, netball is just part of your life, it’s not your entire life,” Smith said.
“It’s pretty important – events for family and that sort of thing so we’ll look at getting the group primed up for the following week where we should have everyone available for the first time for the year, which would be nice.
“She’s (Ritchie) had an outstanding year for a first-year player. She’s gelled really well with the group.”
VNL young guns Mimi Lockwood and Charli Hoey are back after a successful Geelong Cougars campaign that saw them finish runner-up in the Under 23 competition.
“We’re only just starting to get players back now,” Smith said.
“We lost our captain Aleisha (McDonald) for the middle section of the year and getting the two girls back from Cougars at the end of the year has been really valuable.”
While the Giants are well and truly in the premiership race, Smith said it could be a few years until they are really at their best.
“We’re probably still two years away from being ready to be a dominant team,” he said.
“We’ve structured the club for the last five to be in this position. So a pass mark for us is continuing to succeed. We finished fourth last year. If we finish anywhere better than fourth, it’s a better year.
“But on our day, I think we could be capable of anything.”
While St Joseph’s represents a big challenge this weekend, Smith said there was one eye on the finals.
“We started our first final last year very differently to how we finished our home away series and I may do a similar thing,” he said.
“I’m not really sure. I’m probably still throwing up a few options. I think we’ve got a really solid list, but you’ve still got four amazing teams that could all go quite deep.”
SOUTH Barwon secured the double chance with a 70 to 36 win against Colac. Ellen Doyle was colossal under the ring with 59 goals.
ST JOSEPH’S kept its minor premiership hopes alive with a 76 to 18 win against St Albans. Joeys can leap into first place if they defeat Geelong West and Newtown & Chilwell loses to St Mary’s. Star defender Brooke Allan was best on court.
NEWTOWN & Chilwell will finish on top of the ladder if it defeats St Mary’s after a 66 to 24 win against Lara. Julia Woolley showed ominous signs of another dominant finals campaign with a best on court performance.
BELL Park chalked up win number five with a 59 to 38 triumph against Grovedale. Phoebe Wilson was best at wing defence while goal attack Rebecca Trenerry was dangerous.
