IRYMPLE will be looking to knock Wentworth off the podium they have long laid claim to in a top-of-the-table clash in SFNL A Grade netball this weekend.
While the reigning premiers Wentworth be favourites, having maintained their winning streak for the past 53 games, Irymple coach Sherrie Geister was feeling optimistic her side could test the Roos after a strong nine-goal win over Mildura last round.
“We just need to go out there and play steady netball and communicate well,” Geister said.
“There are two teams out there, we get the same amount of centre passes, so it is anyone’s game.”
The Roos are known for their high-intensity style, as well as displaying the calmness of a team that has played together for some time.
Geister said it would be a bit of a mental game for her side as well as a physical one.
“I think if we just play our game and try not to get sucked into their speed and the way that they play – and just try and block out their momentum and the way they have been for the last couple of years – if we can maintain that, we will do OK hopefully,” she said.
Coming off a bye last week, Wentworth playing coach Amanda Edwards said it was good have a reset, and the team was ready to take on the Swallows by sticking to their structures.
“We go into every week wanting to really make sure that we apply that pressure early,” Edwards said.
“We want to stick to the things that we have been doing well.”
A key match-up will be between Wentworth defender Courtney Wakefield and Irymple goaler Vanessa Power.
Both incredible athletes in their own right, it is unlikely either Wakefield or Power will give ground.
Ashlee Cameron and Shakara Delcastegne were expected to do battle in the midcourt, giving spectators an entertaining display of speed and agility.
Both coaches agreed on one thing: it was going to come down to a whole-team effort to decide who will take home the points.
“I always look for those big moments that can change a game, and I put it down to the whole nine players of our squad,” Edwards said.
“It will really come down to all the one-percent efforts from everyone across the board, really getting the team job done.”
In other games, Mildura will aim to bounce back from their defeat to the Swallows last week when they host Robinvale Euston at Brian Weightman Oval.
South Mildura are looking or three consecutive wins when they take on Red Cliffs at Mildura Sporting Precinct.
Ouyen United appear to be on a roll after winning their past two games and will look to move into fourth place on the ladder if they can defeat Imperials at Blackburn Park.
