By Lance Jenkinson
Speed kills for the City West Falcons in the Victorian Netball League.
A high octane brand of netball has seen the Falcons run rings around their championship division opponents in the opening two rounds.
The Marg Lind-coached side is among the top echelon of teams with a 2-0 record after a 74-54 mauling of Casey Demons at the State Netball and Hockey Centre on Wednesday night.
“We’ve had a good start, but we needed to,” Lind said. “We’re aware that once the Australian National League starts, we probably won’t have our full line-up, so we’ve really got to do well while we’ve got them available and make sure we’ve got some points on the board.”
Lind is in awe of what she is seeing from City West so far on the attacking end.
The Falcons are averaging a league-best 71 goals per game over the opening two weeks.
It is all starting in the mid-court for the Falcons with Molly Jovic and Maggie Lind forming a lethal combination.
“There’s great chemistry between Maggie and Molly – they’re on fire at the moment,” Marg Lind said. “They’re really in good sync, playing well together and getting along well on the court.”
City West has been brave with its build up-play. They are playing at a breathtaking speed which has proven impossible to stop in the opening fortnight.
“They’ve really got a bit of confidence in terms of getting the ball in the hands and just letting it go,” Lind said. “It’s a real indicator that they’re believing in each other at the moment.
“If a team has no fear and they’re able to let it go, which is about trust and relationship on the court, it’s dangerous.”
Bold movement would come to nothing if City West’s attacking circle threats were not on the same page as the mid-courters.
Jane Cook and Tahnysha Salanoa are feasting on the precise delivery. Cook was the main beneficiary against Casey, scoring 66 goals at 93 per cent accuracy.
“Jane’s standing on the end of a lot of courage from the attackers and she’s holding up really well,” Lind said.
Defensively, City West needed to shut down Casey’s star player Erin Bell. The task was given to Soli Ropati, who acquitted herself well.
“She had a really thankless job and I was rapt with her performance,” Lind said.
The defending champions will need to take it up another notch in the grand final re-match against a hungry Geelong Cougars at the SNHC on Wednesday night.
