Time is on their side

Portarlington coach says her team has begun to click

IT was always going to take a little bit of time for everything to click at Portarlington under new coach Casey Price.

A new leader, new players and a new game style meant things were never going to happen automatically.

Two games into the year the Demons were yet to register a win, but since then their 7-3 record suggests Price has her team close to being where she wants them heading into the final third of the season.

“We probably didn’t have the start to the season we were looking for, so time has been our friend,” Price said.

“We have had the ability to settle as a playing group. We’ve had some new inclusions to the group and some old faces that have had to get used to each other and time has really assisted us in being able to do that.

“That has been evident in the last couple weeks playing two teams we had in the first half of the season and we’re beating our performances from then.”

The former Newtown premiership star says recent results are proof the playing group is starting to jell.

A mix of old heads and recruits had to work each other’s games out but now that seemed to have been accomplished, a more thorough approach to training had been introduced.

“We obviously had a pretty solid defensive end that have played together for a little while, however they had to get used to our front end, which was pretty much all new with the exception of one or two old faces,” she said.

“That is basically half of the court having to get used to each other, so it’s just the little things like how far can I push a ball, where do you like it, what is our communication style, and they’ve been able to push past that.

“Now that we (are) past the basics we can get into the fundamentals and start to look at strategies against clubs, defensive combinations and styles, which is probably the most enjoyable part.

“It’s really good, and I think they enjoy it the most as well, to be able to put some strategies into their game — as much as going out, passing and trying to score a goal, which is exactly what the opposite team is trying to do as well — and working out how do we combat a certain structure or type of player or play.

“The back end of this year we’ve been able to really look at that and use our training sessions to put in some attacking styles and defensive styles to suit the opponents we come up against.”

Their next opponent, Torquay, is one of the form teams of the competition, having won its past four games.

The Tigers are fourth on the BFNL ladder, a game and percentage clear of the Demons, but while they secured the four points in their Round 6 clash, Price knows the Surf Coast powerhouse will be keen for revenge on Saturday.

“We managed to get the upper hand on them the first time . . . but we expect that they’ll come out seeking a little bit of redemption,” she said.

“If we are going to come away with the win then we’ll have to be at our best again.”

Portarlington hosts Torquay at 1.45pm on Saturday.