Too quick on the draw
Fire coach says offence must take the time to make their shots count
TOWNSVILLE Fire coach Claudia Brassard has urged her players to take more time with their shots as they look to navigate a tough road doubleheader against Adelaide and Perth.
The Fire made a blistering start to their title defence against Dandenong last weekend as they shot at 61 per cent in the first quarter, but their offence fell off in the second half.
Townsville missed their last seven shots in the 73- 68 loss and Brassard said they had worked hard to ensure they were taking the right shots ahead of this afternoon’s clash with Adelaide.
“We’ve just tried to take a bit of time and slow down. I thought we played too fast,” Brassard said.
“We just want to make sure we build on where we were last week. We weren’t terrible, but clearly we missed some shots that we want to make sure we knock down.
“We broke down the video and showed some shots that we weren’t happy with. Let’s keep moving the ball, work it, and we can get a better shot.
“We were the worst threepoint shooting team for the round last weekend and I think we’re a really good three- point shooting team. They just didn’t go down, so hopefully that changes.”
Micaela Cocks had an uncharacteristic miss from three, which would’ve tied the game against Dandenong, but the veteran guard was adamant the Fire could put that loss behind them.
“We’ve only played one game this season so we haven’t freaked out or anything like that. It’s a long season to go and the first game doesn’t define what we can accomplish,” Cocks said.
“I think offensively it’s about not getting too stagnant and just standing around and relying on Suzy ( Batkovic) to go to work. We have to make sure we move the ball and move the defence.
“We’re only going to get better. I think we’ve always been a team that consistently gets better as the season goes along.
“We haven’t had a full preseason with everyone on board and we’ve got a few new players so that will definitely help the more time we can spend together.”
New recruit Stella Beck did not travel this weekend, but she trained strongly after overcoming a foot injury and Brassard expected the New Zealander to play in next Saturday’s home clash with Sydney.
“She’s been training well so it’ll just be building that up,” Brassard said.
“She’s only allowed an hour at a time now, but hopefully we can get her up to full training by the end of next week.”
WE’VE JUST TRIED TO TAKE A BIT OF TIME AND SLOW DOWN. I THOUGHT WE PLAYED TOO FAST CLAUDIA BRASSARD