TIGERS STAY SHARP
Prac game before final
TORQUAY coach Courtney Cuolahan says she is confident a midweek hitout against Colac last Thursday will place her side in good stead for this Saturday’s second semi-final against Geelong Amateur.
Cuolahan hails from the Colac region and organised the friendly clash with her former team to help Torquay avoid losing focus ahead of finals after earning the week off for finishing on top of the BFNL table.
The rivalry the Tigers share with Ammos has become famed in local netball circles and after Geelong Amateur scraped to a three-goal win against Ocean Grove, Cuolahan said Torquay would need to be at the top of its game to advance to the grand final.
“Sometimes you can buy into the rivalry, which is good for spectators and people on the outside, but the girls are really just focused on the roles they have to play,” Cuolahan said.
“I think if we can execute that on Saturday hopefully the result falls our way. We got some match play in last week against Colac so that was really good to get out on court because we have probably played the bottom sides the past three weeks and then had a week off.
“For some groups that might not be ideal but we have had a few niggles so it was OK for us, and in terms of facing Ammos I think it was really good to be able to watch them on Saturday and I think our girls know they will have to really bring their best game to get a win.”
Torquay lost its first game of the season — to Geelong Amateur — by a goal, and then had a draw in Round 2 against Barwon Heads, but since then it has won 16 consecutive games to send a warning to its rivals that it is clearly the team to beat in 2019.
Cuolahan was keen to play down the Tigers’ favouritism, however, saying her team could not rely on past results in the next month.
“The girls are really focused on what we want to achieve this year and as a group we have expectations,” she said.
“We have been lucky enough to come away with one loss and a draw but I don’t think across the year we have been that consistent, even though the results might not say that.
“We were really challenged by Ocean Grove and we match up quite well against certain teams. So it hasn’t been a smooth sailing season but the girls have remained focused which has got us over the line in some of those matches.”