Do or die for Tigers, Swans
THE GFNL is set for one of several mini-finals in the leadup to September on Saturday when Colac and South Barwon meet at Central Reserve.
The sixth-placed Tigers are just two points behind the Swans, who sit in fifth spot, and are coming off a solid two months at A-grade level.
Colac has lost just one game since May — a 16-goal defeat at the hands of Newtown & Chilwell — and drew another, but coach Steve Lawrence says the next month will be telling if it is to play a part in finals.
“We knew that we had this run coming up so we have just got to keep playing well and hope to get a win,” Lawrence said.
“It is a very important game and the girls have got to really put in and bring their ‘A game’ this weekend. We know that South Barwon is a pretty formidable team and has some great players in the team, so we have a lot of respect for them.
“But we hope to be able to put on a good show and come away with the win.”
The two teams have not met so far in 2019, and after a 26-goal victory last week against Bell Park, the Swans will be chasing back-to-back wins for the first time since June.
Lawrence declared Brooke Allan would get first crack at stopping star South shooter Ruby Horton but said his team’s focus was on playing the game on its terms for as long as possible.
“We need to play consistent netball and limit our turnovers, and also be intense with our defence across the court,” he said.
“We will have a chat about them and what they may line up like but we also tend to focus on the processes we are working on because we have a lot of young girls, so we are hoping to build every week and gain some experience and then put our processes into play on the weekend.
“We are very fortunate to get Brooke back given she is the only one in our defensive end with any height, so it is great she has been able to come back and help us out.”
Colac has not won an Agrade final since 2010 and is aiming to play in its first finals series since 2016, when it finished fifth.