YOU had to look close, real close, but reigning premiers Wentworth were just a little off their game at the No. 1 Oval courts on Saturday.
The usual slick transitory passing from defence through midcourt and into attack went awry at times – maybe due to a tricky cross-breeze – and the metronomic shooting near the net was below its best.
Those little lapses should give the rest of the SFNL A Grade field a glimmer of hope as they brace to face the back-to-back champions who haven’t dropped a game for seemingly forever.
But, even being a little off-kilter, the rampant Roos still hopped off with a 55-25 romp over Imperials and those slight lapses will only provide Wenty coach Amanda Edwards with fodder to feed her still hungry team.
“I think today was a bit of a grind and there are definitely areas we can work on,” Edwards said. “We’ve always got something to improve on, so that is great.
“I thought our intensity was really good and today and our defensive pressure again was also really good. On the attack end we just have to make sure in crucial times we are scoring on those big ones so that we can really extend that lead.”
For the team in green, areas of concern are easier to define.
“We knew today was going to be tough all day,” coach Ali Walker said. “Last week we had Mildura and now Wentworth and they were last year’s grand finalists.
“Today is one of the first times this team has played together, so there were some really positive things coming out of this game,” Walker said.
“We’ve just got to take advantage of some of the wins we get like when the ball is in the circle we have to hit our shots and when we get a turnover we have to capitalise on that because you know Wentworth will. But they have been playing together for a few years and we’ve only be on-court together a couple games.”
Maggie Monaghan and Shelby Armstrong were chosen Imps standout performers while Courtney Wakefield and Elizabeth Rowe were deemed the Roos’ best, but any member one of that squad could have claimed those honours.
