A potent force
There has been little doubt for much of Wimmera Netball Association’s A Grade year that Warrack Eagles are one of the teams to beat for this year’s flag. The Eagles have a high-quality line-up, a group that has produced 14 wins for the season. A Grade coach Jane Richardson provided The Weekly Advertiser with a snapshot of her thoughts on why the Eagles have done well and what the future holds. At what stage did you believe you had an A Grade team capable of playing finals? Richardson: “When we were selecting sides in our pre-season we thought the team we put together had a really good chance of making finals. Most of the girls had played together during the past few years and knew each other’s games well.” What do you consider have been the major hurdles in getting your team to the finals and how did you overcome them? What are the biggest hurdles now you are in the finals? Richardson: “Trying to keep our playing list fit for the season and just managing workloads has been something we have had to work on. It’s something we continually try to manage.” What does your team have to do to get into a position to play off in a grand final? Richardson: “Consistency is something we have worked on since last year when we thought our games could be a little inconsistent.” Who have been your key players, leaders, mentors and so on who have helped you get to the finals? Richardson: “Our captain Emma Koschitzke has been an outstanding leader for us. Her work ethic at training and on game day leads the way for the rest of the group. Megan Werner has also been a key player this year. She has been a real focal point in and around goals. Briodi Mckenzie has also been impressive and she and Megan have developed into a really exciting combination in goals. Penny Fisher has continued to perform well and will be instrumental in our finals campaign. For on-court leaders we can’t go past having Sarah Spicer back in the team after her knee reconstruction last year. She is a game changer.”
From structural, physical and psychological points of view, what are the strengths you can exploit in your team and what are the weaknesses you have to overcome to be successful in the finals? Richardson: “Most of our team has played together for the past few years so that knowledge of each other’s games will certainly be a strength. We also pride ourselves on our strong all-court defence.”
How do you see the short and long-term future of netball at your club? Richardson: “We have pretty good numbers in our senior teams and our juniors are rebuilding after a few years of low numbers. Our net set go program has good numbers though so hopefully we can keep these girls interested in netball in the future.”