Grand title fight ahead
THE Tasmanian Netball League begins its finals competition this weekend, with the top four teams battling it out for places in this year’s grand final.
The top-ranking Northern Hawks will face off against second-placed Cavaliers in a qualifying semi-final, while third-placeholders Cripps Waratah will battle it out with the fourth-ranked Kingston Blues in an elimination semi.
Hawks and Cavs will be vying for a place in the grand final, while the losing team will then clash with the winner of the elimination final.
Undefeated in the 2022 season, Hawks will be striving to continue their impressive winning streak, while Cavs will be looking to capitalise on their experience as last year’s premiers throughout their finals campaign.
Cavs coaching squad member Dannie Carstens says the squad will focus on consistency and sticking to their structures and game plan in order to increase pressure on the Hawks line-up.
“For us against Hawks, it is about consistency and breaking the game up into parts,” she said. “There always has been a focus on maintaining outstanding defence in our game plan, this is essential against a team like Hawks that can score quickly.”
She acknowledged that the squad has had to be flexible and resilient in the face of changes and challenges throughout the season.
“This Cavs team, more than any other Cavs team, has had to face rapid changes. However, there has always been a focus on building capacity within our club, so these changes have been made fairly seamlessly,” she said.
Cripps and Kingston will be playing for a place in the next qualifying final, however, for one team it will mark the end of their 2022 campaign.
Kingston head coach Erin Baker (inset) says the team will be putting it all on the line to produce its best netball over the course of the match.
“We had a flying start to the season, had some losses in the middle, and our final few weeks have produced some of our best,” she said. “So, there’s a belief forming and we are looking forward to the challenge.”
Both matches take place this Saturday. Hawks and Cavs starts at 3pm at the Silverdome; while Cripps and Kingston will face off at 5.15pm at the Hobart Netball and Sports Centre.