“THERE’S no point playing your best netball of the year in April or May, because there are no trophies on the line.”
There’s never been a truer statement than this one from Kyra Nathan, as the experienced Ouyen United playing coach sets sail on a “must-win” month for her team to get back in the mix to threaten benchmark club Wentworth come finals time in late August.
It’s familiar territory for the Kangas, who are the Makybe Divas of the SFNL A Grade competition, often coming from behind with a whirlwind finish after settling near the tail of the field.
Sitting in fifth with a 2-3 record (two wins behind second-placed Mildura), the perennial flag contenders have pinpointed next month as a chance to establish their finals credentials.
They are away to Red Cliffs this Saturday, then clashes with Imperials, Merbein and South Mildura.
“We had a tough early run against the top teams, and we see these games as must-wins to set up the back half of our season,” Nathan said.
“We had a disappointing loss to Irymple (in round 5), but the thing is, you learn more about the team from a loss.
“We panicked in that game and didn’t use the ball well, which caused too many turnovers. It was a good wake-up call.
“We always move forward as a group, where everyone recognises what we need to improve on, and against Robinvale (last week), we hardly threw the ball away. That’s very pleasing for a coach when the group responds so well.”
Catherine Brown is one of the competition’s elite players.
She built a reputation as a fierce defender, but she’s more recently been showing a hot hand in the goal circle.
“We’ve got Cat down in goals with Casey Crothers,” Nathan said. “They’ve only played together for a couple of games, but just having Casey’s experience in there has been settling for Cat.
“Ideally, you’d want both in defence because they are our best defenders.
“But here’s the thing, you have to shoot goals to win games, and that’s where we need Cat and Casey.
“We have other really good defenders like Esther Manly, who has really grown as a player, and we’ve still got Tsharni (Burns) and Megan Jardine (at wing defence) to stand tall for us.”
Nathan is well accustomed to breaking a season down into bite-sized goals.
But she acknowledges her team has a mountain to climb before they can dethrone two-time premiers Wentworth, who they pushed in an epic indoor 2022 grand final at Mildura Sporting Precinct.
“I think we match them very well with the players we’ve got,” she said. “We were with them for half a game (in round 4) but we just couldn’t sustain it.
“But they are a long way in front. They are well drilled, quite professional and have very skilled players.
“They have well-formed connections and, regardless of how good a team is, you can’t beat that.”
