Lessons from pain We’re on notice to sharpen up after Vixens expose weak spots
THE Firebirds have been served notice that the defence of our national title in the new Suncorp Netball Series is going to be a significant challenge.
Any doubts about what we need to do to retain our crown were put to bed last weekend when we crashed to a 66-50 defeat to the Melbourne Vixens on home boards.
To say we were disappointing would be an understatement. To put it bluntly, it was a shocker.
It was plain to see that, not for the first time, we were our own worst enemies.
It started with too many silly mistakes, then we had to play catch-up, which is a deadly combination if you are the ones trailing.
I have seen statistics that showed we turned the ball over 25 times.
That number was monstered by the 81 penalties we conceded – and that sort of stuff was deadly against a sharp outfit like the Vixens.
We committed 18 turnovers in the first half alone. Little wonder we struggled to stay in touch.
Still, there is a silver lining to every cloud and I believe some good lessons were learnt.
We reviewed the match on Monday and it was clear that the Vixens pretty much isolated us in certain areas.
For instance they concentrated on the player in possession then subsequently worked hard to successfully shut down avenues to our attacking zone.
And that concentration on defence proved to be pretty smart netball. I WILL be the first to admit that I did not have my best game against the Vixens.
I was frustrated by too many unforced errors in my game and I was eventually subbed at three-quarter time by coach Roselee Jencke.
That was disappointing for me but on a team level the good thing was the introduction of Logan junior Abigail Latu-Meafou to top-flight competition.
Abi is so powerful as a goal shooter, she is strong and smart and looks to have a good future ahead of her.
Abi was born in Auckland and is still only 19.
She has been playing for the Fusion in the Australian Netball League and is a more than handy back-up on our roster.
She specialises in forward line roles so it is good to have some pressure on for starting positions in our match-day line-up.
I know I now have to be on my game to stay in there.