Ruthless Wenty puts game to bed early

AFTER a tougher than usual test away against Robinvale Euston last week, the Wentworth Roos returned to George Gordon with their characteristic ruthless nature.

A 74-21 thrashing of Imperials on Saturday has extended their flawless run this year.

Roos player-coach and goal machine Amanda Edwards put 50 away as she leads the league’s individual scoring by 106.

“I’m really happy with our performance today,” she said.

“Obviously across all four quarters, I think we were really strong.

“So, really proud of the netball we played today.”

An electric first half saw Wentworth effectively put the game to bed early, limiting Imperials to just seven goals after the opening two quarters shooting 39 themselves.

“We speak about it a lot and in the change rooms before the game that today is about our start,” Edwards said.

“I think with Robinvale last week we didn’t really get off to the best start, so we really wanted to make sure that was our emphasis today.”

Blustery conditions and the impenetrable Roos back court stronghold of Natalie Vercher, Courtney Wakefield and Christie Becker proved too difficult for the Imps to decode.

“I think they’re a really good team as they shot really well from distance today in this windy weather but our defence today I think was incredible,” Edwards said.

“Coming up against Courtney, Christie and Nat in that defence line-up.

“We train against them and they’re bloody tough.”

A prominent feature of this unbeatable Wentworth outfit has been there defensive stinginess, conceding at least 135 goals fewer than any other SFNL team this season.

“It has taken a lot of years to build and create that defensive pressure,” Edwards said.

“It’s not just our defenders out there, it’s the whole seven of us building pressure so we do work on that a lot at training.

“There’s a lot of repetitiveness for the girls, but it really shows come game day.”

Offensively, the Roos transitioned rapidly as Edwards highlighted the importance of high paced drills during the week prior to game day.

“We do a lot of tempo stuff at training,” she said.

“We talk about making sure that we treasure those moments with the ball, so they are really important for us.

“Netball’s a 50-50 game, you get every second centre pass, so we make sure that we use that ball when we get it and make sure that we score.”

Edwards team alongside every other Roos side competing at George Gordon across netball and football this past Saturday wore commemorative black tape on their arms as a mark of respect for the passing of councillor and former Wentworth Shire mayor Tim Elstone.

With no SFNL matches next weekend, the Roos are perched comfortably at the top of the table and will travel to play Irymple in their next fixture, whereas eighth place Imperials must wait until July 26 to play due to a double bye break for them.