COUTAS POWER ON
QUEENSCLIFF co- coach Kerri Maher says there is no doubt her side has improved, but the Coutas are yet to be tested under pressure.
Back-to-back wins to open the season have come fairly easily for Queenscliff, with wins against Drysdale and Newcomb.
Saturday’s win over the Power, 84-19, was a procession at Grinter Reserve, with young gun Kaitlin Gladman (49 from 56) and Tess Upstill (33 from 42) combining for relatively easy work under the ring.
The visitors shot 20 or more goals in each of the four quarters, keeping Newcomb to just 13 goals after quarter-time.
Wing attack Shantelle Maurer and goal keeper Madelaine Clifton were also named in the Coutas’ best.
“The girls played really well. I just felt sorry for Newcomb,” Maher said.
“We played much better than we did last year — a lot stronger, a lot less errors — but there wasn’t a lot of pressure there to make errors either.
“But it was a good win, and it was good to see the things we’ve been working on come off as well.
“We played better than the week before (against Drysdale). The week before we didn’t really make any bad decisions, we just had bad execution, so a lot of skill errors the first game.”
For Queenscliff, Ocean Grove away on Easter Saturday should provide a tougher challenge, however, and Maher is looking forward to getting a gauge on her side’s improvement against a fellow undefeated team.
The Grubbers have also beaten Newcomb and Drysdale in the first two weeks.
“Next week will be the test,” Maher said. “It should be a tough one. We’ve definitely improved, it’s just how we’ve improved when the pressure is put on really.”