By Tara Murray
Macedon may have won its opening two matches, but the Cats still have plenty of work to do in the Riddell District Netball League.
On the scoreboard, it seems like the opening two rounds have been easy for the reigning premiers, but the players aren’t 100 per cent happy.
Cats’ coach Ciara Stewart said they were good for three quarters in the opening round against Riddell, but were left frustrated by their 59-41 win against Broadford in round two.
“It was a really tough game,” she said of the Broadford game. “It wasn’t because of the scoreline, but the stop-start nature of the game.
“We heavily rely on speed … we were really frustrated and deflated after the game.”
Stewart said that they had scheduled a team dinner for the bye week to get rid of the frustrations and get back on track.
While not entirely happy with the first two weeks, Stewart said they had used those rounds to have a look at some new combinations.
Hayley Mathews has come across from Rupertswood and will give the Cats a third shooting option, working with Stewart and last year’s Ryan medallist, Chloe Wilson
The Cats have been trying to work on some new combinations in mid-court following the departures of Tayissa Coppinger, Briarley Delaney and Madeleine Huggins from last year’s premiership team.
“Against Riddell we had new combinations every quarter and we did the same against Broadford,” Stewart said.
“We knew they would be competitive sides, but thought these games were a good opportunity to try and work out our best combinations.
“We’ll keep trying combinations, but we’ll look to start with our best side and get a good lead and then change things up.”
Macedon, who haven’t lost a game since 2017, will be tested in the next two weeks. They will face Rupertswood in their annual Anzac Day clash, before facing Romsey in the grand final rematch the following week.
Both teams, along with the Cats, are expected to be among the contenders this season.
“Rupertswood is an unknown,” Stewart said. “We’re looking forward to it. We need some good hit-outs.”
Stewart said the club was also keen to see how it goes against Rupertswood’s other three sides. The Sharks have dominated the under-19s, C-grade and B-grade competitions in recent years.
In other third-round matches, Broadford hosts Rockbank, Lancefield and Riddell will both be looking for their first win, while Romsey plays Woodend-Hesket and Wallan plays Diggers Rest.
