Hawks Netball’s Championship division team is edging closer to a spot in the Victorian Netball League top four after its most impressive win of the season to date, as the Hawks completed a second consecutive clean sweep across the three divisions.
The Hawks were too strong for Casey Demons in Round 8, scoring a 64-46 win against their southern rivals to sit just one game outside the top four as the season’s halfway mark approaches.
A dominant defensive performance from Clare Johnson set up the 18-goal win, with the in-form goal keeper producing 12 turnovers in three quarters while restricting the opportunities for former Super Netball shooter Emma Ryde.
Only three goals separated the teams at quarter-time, but from there it was all the Hawks as they netted 17 goals to 11 in the second quarter and 18 goals to 10 in the third to put the result beyond doubt.
Hawks defender Chloe Sinclair said the win was confirmation that the team has what it takes to compete for a spot in finals this year.
“We’ve had a lot of team chats about how we have the skills and capabilities to make it to finals, but it’s just been about trusting each other to play their role and to give 100% effort on court,” Sinclair said.
“Some of the games were we have fallen short have just been our lack of belief that we can be a top four team, but over the last couple of weeks we’ve found our rhythm again.”
“Coming off the back of a good win last week, we wanted to build on our game and really put out 100% work rate for our full court defence. We’ve also been working on our goalers’ timing and rotations, which I think really showed.”
“Clare Johnson had an outstanding game out the back in GK. When you know you’re coming up against a tall GS she knew she was going to have to do a lot of work around the body confusing the space to come off with some tips, and she did an amazing job of that.”
The Hawks now take on the ninth-placed Peninsula Waves in Round 9 on Wednesday, May 18.
DIVISION 1
A sixth win from eight games has lifted Hawks Netball’s Division 1 team into the top two.
The Hawks’ defence end refused to give an inch throughout an at times scrappy contest, holding Casey Demons to just 26 goals for the game and only 11 in the second half in the 47-26 win.
Defensive trio Sally Deller, Chloe Duke and Olivia Spence helped the Hawks rack up more than 50 turnovers across the four quarters, while at the other end goal shooter Dom Taylor amassed 29 goals before three-quarter time.
With Geelong Cougars suffering an unexpected loss against Southern Saints, the win sees the Hawks vault into second place on the ladder, behind only the undefeated North East Blaze, who trumped the Hawks by just a single goal earlier in the season.
A disclocated thumb for Spence late in the game soured the victory, as the Hawks now prepare to take on the fifth-placed Peninsula Waves on Wednesday evening.
19/UNDER
Round 9 shapes as a pivotal moment in the Hawks 19/Under team’s season as they prepare to take on Peninsula Waves for the chance to jump into the top four.
Only half a game separates the equal-top Waves with the fifth-placed Hawks, after the Hawks collected their fifth win of the season against Casey Demons on Wednesday night.
The Hawks led from the outset against the Demons and won every quarter en route to a 61-43 result, with the team back to almost full strength after illness and player availbility impacted the side in recent weeks.
Centre and first-year Hawk Sienna Green said the team’s game plan had clicked after a few inconsistent games.
“The last couple of weeks we’ve focused heavily on possession netball. I think it’s important we realise that if we just keep possession of the ball during games and capitalise off turnovers, we can win,” Green said.
“Casey have come out quite strong this year so we went into it knowing that they were going to be hungry for the win. We also knew they had very quick attackers so it was important that we stood up to them and blocked their space, and their defenders were very good in the air so we knew we had to use our fakes.”
Green said she was thriving in her first season in Hawks colours.
“I’ve been loving it so far. Hawks have been such an inviting club and all the girls have made me feel comfortable straight away. On the court with the likes of Keeley (Burgmann) and Sim (Di Filippo) as captains they’re always letting me know what I’m doing well and what I can do better, and I’ve loved being coached by all the Hawks coaches.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing what our 19s team can do in the last half of the season.”
The Hawks face Peninsula Waves at the State Netball Centre on Wednesday, May 18.
7pm – Championship
8.20pm – Division 1
9.40pm – 19/Under