Sharper Sharks in with shot at finals
IT’S taken half the Division 1 netball season, but Sharks coach Lauren Hellmuth is at last seeing her side fulfil its lofty potential.
Sharks scored their fifth win of the year on Wednesday night when they beat the North Cairns Tigers 43-34 at the Martyn St courts.
The victory kept Sharks fourth on the ladder and on track to achieve their preseason goal of qualifying for the finals.
Hellmuth said the quality of Sharks’ performances was steadily improving each week.
‘‘The girls have been really stepping up,’’ she said.
‘‘I’ve been happy with most of their performances.
‘‘We’ve still got inconsistencies. It’s frustrating as a coach to watch it sometimes, but every week we target what we want to improve on.
‘‘And if we do that, we’ve got every chance (of playing in the finals).’’
Hellmuth said Sharks’ combinations were becoming more fluent.
‘‘We’ve got some very talented players,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s just a matter of putting it all on the court as a team.
‘‘But I guess that’s the job of the coach to make sure that happens.’’
North Cairns mentor Leanna Hosking said her goal was stopping Tigers turning over so much possession during games.
‘‘That’s what got us (against Sharks),’’ she said.
‘‘Our shooting was great and our defence was great, but we just couldn’t get the ball past centre court.’’
In other results on Wednesday, Leprechauns downed Indamu 44-21 and Lightning defeated South Cairns 52-24.
Lauren Hellmuth.