WARRIORS’ NETBALL TITLE GLORY

MODEWARRE lived up to its Warrior name, claiming the BFNL Premier Division Dow Cup in a comfortable win over Geelong Amateur on Saturday.

The match, played in front of a vocal crowd at Drysdale Recreation Reserve, was won 43-27.

Ammos displayed its strong, defensive brand of netball early but Modewarre had the momentum following the first break, gaining control and confidence with every passing minute of play.

Coach Matt Armstrong, who took the top job three years ago, said he was beyond proud of the side. “It hasn’t been a smooth ride for the year, we’ve had our ups and downs and to finish off the way they played is amazing. We were able to play the game we wanted on our terms,” he said.

Go-to goaler Kim Martin was awarded player of the match after shooting 74 per cent of the side’s winning score.

Martin, a former GDFL player, came to the club as a recruit following two years living in England.

At the other end of the court, defender Laura McClelland’s pressure and presence generated turnover opportunities that furthered the Warrior’s wining margin.

“We had people at both ends doing great jobs and then through the mid court we had Monique Pedretti and Lauren Lapsley tearing it up, driving hard, working hard ... we always had options,” Armstrong said.

The Warriors’ depth was on display throughout the match, relatively uninterrupted by the ankle injury suffered by wing defence Zoe Tennant in the second quarter, sidelining her for the rest of the game.

“She went down pretty hard, which is a shame because her last two months have been really good and she’s worked her way into that wing defence position and for it to go down that way is disappointing,” Armstrong said.

“But (co-coach) Matt (Lapsley) and I sat down and had a plan going into this game, which was to use that depth and we put that plan into play and it was great that the girls were able to execute it.”

Armstrong said the vocal support from Modewarre fans carried the side to new heights.

“That crowd was amazing, it was great to see so many Modewarre people come down and be so vocal, so loud,” he said.

“The cheering and support I am sure gave the girls a lift even when the chips were down early in the game.” The coach said he believed the Warriors’ tough road to finals was a blessing in disguise.

“We’ve had some really tough games, our last two months we’ve played all the top teams back to back just about and I think it’s got us ready,” he said.

“We learnt a lot about ourselves throughout that time.’’