Fired up for challenge
Gabi upbeat ahead of West Coast clash
THE KEY IS OTHER TEAMS ARE WINNING BALL AS WELL SO WHEN WE GET IT WE JUST HAVE TO CONVERT IT GABI SIMPSON
FIREBIRDS captain Gabi Simpson is a “glass half-full” kind of person.
Some would be daunted by coming up against the undefeated West Coast at Boondall today and their goalscoring machine Jhaniele Fowler.
Some would also be frustrated by last week’s fourthquarter flop that cost Queensland victory over the GWS Giants.
But Simpson says the Firebirds are relishing the challenge of taking on the No.1 team in the country and are encouraged that they were able to work their way into a winning position against last year’s grand finalists before two late errors allowed the Giants to pounce.
Wins over reigning champions Sunshine Coast Lightning and 2017 minor premiers Melbourne Vixens showed the Firebirds were back as a force before throwing away the win against GWS when Queensland led by two goals and had possession with three minutes left.
Simpson said Fowler and the Fever would be another serious test and the Firebirds had plans in place to limit the impact of the Jamaican, who will match up with Laura Geitz in her first home game at Boondall since her return to netball.
“This will be a really good indicator of where we are at,” Simpson said.
“She (Fowler) has been playing great netball, scoring most of their goals.
“For us ... it’s about stopping the ball early.
“We’ve got a few strategies up our sleeves to see if we can change it up and win some ball.
“The key is other teams are winning ball as well so when we get it we just have to convert it.”
She said the Firebirds’ game plan was holding up but the execution under pressure needed to follow in the tight games.