By Tara Murray
Rupertswood is confident it will do well in finals despite a last round loss to Wallan in the Riddell District Netball League.
With finals positions set for both the Sharks and Magpies, there was little to play for at the weekend.
It was the Magpies that came out firing and led by nine goals at half-time.
While the Sharks lifted their intensity in the second half, they were only able to close the gap by one goal, losing 44-36.
Sharks coach Di McCormack was full of praise for the Magpies in what she described as a high quality game.
“It was disappointing and our first half let us down,” she said.
“I think Wallan are a class unit and they’re the ones I’ll be looking out for.
“They’re the in-form team. Chris [Cameron] has done a great job in getting it all together.”
For Sharks, Abby Gilmore shot 23 goals from 27 attempts despite tight defence from the Magpies.
Clare Johnson was named the Sharks best.
The Sharks face Macedon in a qualifying final on Saturday at Romsey.
The two teams haven’t played since Anzac Day, when the Cats won.
McCormack said they were confident they could have success this year.
“I think we were missing Clare [Johnson] and we didn’t have a full team last time.
“It’s [finals] an unknown.
“You’ve got to go on from what you’ve seen in the past and you’ve got to stick to your game plan.
“We have to do what we do well. I’m confident we can make it all the way.”
Both teams will be sweating on Victorian Netball League results on Wednesday night, which could affect player availability.
The Sharks could loss Johnson if her VNL side is playing a preliminary final on the Sunday.
McCormack said they had a number of different combinations they could use if Johnson doesn’t play.
All four Sharks teams will play finals. Their B-grade and under-19 teams are on top undefeated, while their C-grade team finished sixth.
McCormack said she was thrilled with how the season has panned out.
“We put our A-grade team together three weeks before the season started and they haven’t trained once and we’re still sitting here.
“To get where we are, we’ve come together and talked about what we’re doing and I’m really happy with how we’ve gone.
“Finals is different. We’re trying to find a day to train.
“If we can get things right, we could have a look at four teams come grand final day.”
The other winners in the final round were, Macedon, Diggers Rest, Romsey and Riddell.
In other first-round finals matches, Romsey and Riddell, and Wallan and Rockbank, face off in elimination finals.
