IRYMPLE barely put a foot – or pass – wrong on their way to a comfortable 14-point victory over Red Cliffs at the Henshilwood Oval courts on Saturday.
The Swallows overcame an early deficit to hold a four-point lead at the first break and then turned up the heat in the second and third quarters, nailing 33 goals while restricting the Tigers to 21.
That allowed coach Sherrie Geister the opportunity to experiment with different combinations as A Grade’s third-placed team cruised over the line 61-47.
So, all’s good in Swallowland as 7-3 Irymple rev up for the charge home and finals action?
Well, sort of.
“It’s good to get the four points but I’m not totally happy with the scoreline,” Geister said.
“We did use a lot of rolling subs today, more than we usually do, to give a few players a rest.
“I thought our second quarter was our absolute best and we just opened up and used the right options and passed into space – all the things I’ve been asking of them.
“Not so much in the third – that was our worst quarter and there were (some good) patches in the last.
“If we can do that more consistently, we will be a bit more competitive.”
Consistency and competitiveness are also two of the key targets Tigers coach Romany Bowen is aiming for as she attempts to lift her 1-9 side off the bottom of the table.
“We just need to keep going to training, working it (mid-court play) out, keep working out our spacing,” Bowen said.
“As we showed in that last quarter, when we get it, it works; we know what to do.
“We hope we can take that last quarter into the next game’s first.
“We have just got to keep our eye on our prize and what we are trying to build towards, and wins will come.”
Goal keeper Alice Leeder and wing attack Jorja Parker were named Red Cliffs’ best while wing defence Sophie Price and former Heat basketballer Bronte Pezzaniti led the way in an even Irymple effort.
