Loss has Torquay ready to rebound

TORQUAY coach Courtney Cuolahan says last week’s loss to Ocean Grove was a timely reminder of how even the competition is going to be in 2018.

The Tigers had been undefeated until falling by 13 goals to the Grubbers and now face a stern test against ladder leaders Barwon Heads.

Cuolahan said the Seagulls were looming as a benchmark side and conceded Torquay could not afford to slip up in consecutive weeks.

“I think the league is looking excellent and that is good, but from a coaching perspective it’s good when you come up against a team like that to see the areas you need to work on and reassess,” Cuolahan said.

“In that sense it’s been quite good for us and it will reinvigorate the girls.

“They’re hungry and don’t want to make it a common thing to be losing, so we’ll train hard this week and hopefully put out a solid performance against Barwon Heads.

“Madi Koehler is a really big addition for them in the midcourt and I watched them over the Easter weekend and their midcourt was really good, so I think that’s where it will be won or lost. They move the ball quite well and are quite steady, and they have retained a lot of their players from last year.

“With the addition of Madi, I think they’ll be right up there this year, so it’s a good look for us to see where we’re at.”

Barwon Heads enjoyed a strong win over Queenscliff last week to bounce back from a one-goal loss to Geelong Amateur — its only defeat of the season.

Cuolahan said there were some question marks over some of her players’ availability for the top of the table clash but added she was confident Torquay had plenty of depth.

“They (Barwon Heads) are looking in some really good form so I think it will be a good test to see how we bounce back as a group,” Cuolahan said.

“We have a few unavailable but I still think we’ll give it a good crack and I think it will be a good game regardless.

“Our depth in B-grade is really good this year so we’ll be able to elevate some of those and look at our juniors.

“But we can’t afford to drop too many games this year with the comp being so even, so we’re really looking forward to this weekend.”

Torquay travels to Barwon Heads on Saturday, with the match set to commence at 1.45pm.