THE biggest star in the SFNL A-grade netball competition has given a telling insight into the secret of her powerhouse team’s success this season.
Wentworth playing coach Amanda Edwards revealed after her side’s 12th straight win this season that she adopts a basketball philosophy in her approach to netball.
It’s clearly working well after the Roos surged clear late to beat fifth-placed Irymple by 23 goals on Saturday.
The 35-year-old is a former star with the Mildura Heat’s Big V basketball team, where she lit the court up with the likes of Vanessa Power.
Edwards explained after Saturday’s game the reasoning for seeing netball through a basketball lens.
“I coach a lot more of a basketball style with the aggression and one-on-one defence,” she said.
“I always talk about our defensive pressure, which runs across all lines on the netball court.
“It’s the same with basketball. You’ve got to be able to do everything, from defending, passing well and having an ability to shoot.
“So, with my netball team, the defenders know how to attack well, and my attackers can defend.”
She gave a quick nod to her former Heat teammates before she reflected on Saturday’s win.
“I’m a really close friend with Vanessa Power. We played a lot of basketball together over the years, from juniors to Lady Heat.
“They’re doing great. They’ve turned their season around. It’s credit to all the players and coach (James Madigan).”
She said Saturday’s game was “tough, especially in the first half” where, coincidentally, a Heat player in Shakara Delcastegne was the Swallows’ best.
“Irymple are a good young side and they’ve improved immensely as the season’s gone on,” Edwards said.
“But once we got our lead, we pushed on well. I’m very happy with all my girls.”Dees power home
The 24-goal margin was not a true reflection of the competitiveness of the A-grade netball match between Mildura and Red Cliffs on Saturday.
While second-placed Mildura ran out the game the better, winning 55-31, Red Cliffs had the opportunity with a shot on goal to make the margin three goals deep in the third quarter. It was evidence that Mildura did not have this game all their way.
Mildura started well, building a nine-goal buffer at quarter-time. Red Cliffs then began negotiating the Demons’ whole-court defence with patient ball movement to work themselves into the game.
The Tigers won the second quarter by three goals and continued to peg back the margin in the third quarter getting within four goals before they were eventually overpowered. Mildura outscored Red Cliffs by 15 goals in the final term.
Alexander Leng worked both ways tirelessly for the Demons, while co-coach Jess McNamara was creative as Goal Attack, either generating or converting scoring opportunities.
For the visitors, Yelena Richardson was praised for her efforts playing in an unaccustomed role as Centre while Jazmin Parker had a good game in goals.
McNamara was pleased with how her team played out the game.
“We made sure we weren’t complacent, and no matter what the score was, we kept running out the full four quarters,” she said.
Red Cliffs coach Steph O’Laughlin was pleased with her team’s effort but conceded they lost some of their zip in the final quarter.
“Our first three quarters were really good. We got within four, and I think we rattled them,” she said.
“We had a few people out today, we were missing two players, had to use a couple of fill-ins, and we just ran out of legs.”Dominant Kangas
Ouyen United produced a strong four-quarter performance in a comprehensive 33-goal A-grade win over Imperials on Saturday.
The Kangas won every quarter and worked on a few combinations in the process.
Kangas star intercept defender and captain Catherine Brown was pleased with the team’s performance.
“Everyone in our side played their role today, even as we changed a few positions,” said Brown, who was best on court.
“Our intensity was up all game. Our all-court defence and ability to grab the loose balls were key. We’ve had lapses, often in second quarters, throughout this season, so to have a consistent four-quarter performance was great.”
The Kangas had no such issues in the second quarter, dominating the term to score 14 goals to two.
Imperials coach Deb Scott focused on the positives post-game.
“We shot accurately today, but we made too many bad passes. Ouyen’s full court pressure was great,” Scott said.
“We are doing a great job, especially considering we have three A Grade players out for the remainder of the season. The B Grade and Under 17 girls we are using are doing a fantastic job.”
Meg McManus was Imperials’ best, starting in centre before moving into defence, and defender Laci McHugh did all she could to stop the Kangas.
In Saturday’s other SFNL A-grade game, fourth-placed South Mildura edged out bottom-placed Robinvale Euston 54-50 at John James Ovals.
Playing coach Georgia Chase and Tayla Sellens starred for the Bulldogs, while Georgie Kelly and Shakira Hingano played well for the gallant home team.
