Lancefield Netball Club is in an unfamiliar position entering the Riddell District Netball League finals.
The Tigers’ A-grade side is playing finals for the first time in at least six years, and it’s the first time anyone at the club can remember three sides making finals.
Tigers coach Alan Watson says it’s an important milestone.
“No one at the club can remember this happening before – the As, Bs and under-19s all playing finals – and I’m led to believe it’s six to seven years since the A-grade side made finals.
“Three years ago, we didn’t have an A-grade side so we’ve come a very long way.
“We will continue to build on this, keep growing to be a more attractive club.”
The Tigers enter the finals on a winning note, having smashed Kilmore, 92-20.
This win means they finish fifth, and will play Romsey on Sunday at Eric Boardman Reserve in the second elimination final.
Watson is hoping the reality check against Macedon in the second-last round will ensure the Tigers are ready for finals.
“We had the opportunity to finish third on the ladder if we’d won that game, but we didn’t play four quarters,” Watson recalled.
“At the end of it, they played four quarters and we didn’t.
“We stopped leading and working hard. Our shooting percentage wasn’t good enough and it’s dropped from the start of the year.
“Against the Cats, one girl shot at 25 per cent and another at 44. You can’t win games with those sorts of issues.”
Watson said injuries hadn’t helped the side in recent weeks.
But in a change of fortune, Savaii Williams returned against Kilmore in a best-on-court performance, while Alannah Gottschalk is expected to be back to play Romsey.
“We haven’t had luck with injuries the past few weeks,” the coach said. “We’ve had people sick and injured; seven were missing against Macedon.
“We need everyone on the court at the same time.”
As for facing the experienced Romsey this week? “We have a younger playing group and it’s an opportunity for the youngsters to step up,” Watson says.
“We have youth on our side and I think it could be the telling factor. There’s plenty of speed and run in our team.”
