Tara Murray
City West Falcons blew away Boroondara Express in the second half to seal back-to-back Victorian Netball League championship division wins.
After an even first half on the scoreboard, the Falcons sorted out their defence to run away with a 77-55 win.
Falcons coach Marg Lind said they took some time to get going, with former Falcon Uneeq Palavi causing plenty of headaches.
“Uneeq is a good shooter,” she said.
“Without Sarah Szczykulski we didn’t have the right match up against her so we had to use a different strategy.
“We got a bit better strategy and got on top. We should have blown the game out earlier, but we made a few errors.”
Lind gave credit to young defender Melissa Oloamanu who had the job on Palavi.
The front third of the court was again strong. Jane Cook shot a perfect 64 from 64, while Madelyn Gray, Maggie Lind and Montana Ham all had good games.
Champion division shooter Tee Salanoa stepped down and played in the division 1 side, to get a full game on court and get some more match play.
The Falcons division 1 side had a poor first quarter and were made to pay, while the under-19 team got its first win of the season.
Lind said they continued to try different combinations in the under-19s, with 13 players having stepped onto the court in the first three weeks.
The Falcons sit equal second on the ladder with two wins and a draw.
Lind said she was happy with how things were going so far.
“We’ve played three good teams,” she said. “Copping Geelong first up and then looking how we’ve gone the last two weeks, to come back from nine goals down for a draw is a good result.
“We’re keeping a lid on it, but we’re travelling along nicely.
It was a big week for Falcons midcourter Maggie Lind, who made her Super Netball debut for Collingwood.
A training partner with the Magpies, Lind was elevated to the side due to an injury to her long time Falcons teammate Molly Jovic.
Lind took to the court in the second half of the Magpies big loss.
The Falcons will be at home for the first time this week, as they face the Hawks at Altona Sports Centre on Sunday.
Lind said they were excited to play at home, with the club looking to give free entry to any of their junior players who turn up wearing red.
Games start at 1pm.
