Cats cling on to fifth with big win over Bloods

Another goalless quarter for the Bloods followed in the third, as LBU put another five on the board, before a four-goal-to-three final term saw the Cats prevail by 90 points.

Coach Stacy Fiske was overjoyed that his side not only won, but was able to implement improved parts of its game it had focused on at training.

“I think it's probably not so much about the win but about the performance for us,” he said.

“We were able to actually sort of put a few things together that we've been working on for the past few weeks that had probably let us down those past couple of weeks too. The smile on my face this morning was probably more around that than getting the win.

“We always knew we would be a fairly good team when we got it all to click, and we probably showed a little bit of that.”

A large factor in the win was composure, with Fiske making sure his charges slowed down with ball in hand to ensure they picked the best option when heading forward.

“We worked on composure with the ball a little bit. We had been panicking a little bit trying to go fast, fast, fast,” he said.

“So just to slow it down a bit and find the best option was probably the real positive outside all the stuff we've been doing really well beforehand, which was our contested ball and our tackling, which was still high, so it was nice to tick a few more boxes.”

Moreover, Fiske was happy that every player on the field made a contribution in the win, a fact highlighted by how tough it was to pick the best players.

“It was hard to pick the best players, and that means the whole team is contributing, which is a positive thing,” he said.

“Our backline did a really good job, I think we kept them to nine points for the first three quarters. They got a couple of the last, but team defence is something we pride ourselves on. If we do that really well, we get a few more entries.

“We're just able to get better and be cleaner and just hit up the best option. I think that showed, we weren't just bombing it long to a Tony McMahon or Tyler Phillips or Max Johnson, we're actually looking to hit up targets, and I think that's why we were able to hit the scoreboard a bit better and have a few more contributors because of that.”

The 90-point win has the side full of confidence, with the performance yesterday a closer resemblance to the LBU that won the premiership last year than has been seen all season.

Fiske will need more of the same next weekend if his side is to contend against a Mount Pleasant side that looks capable of going all the way this year.

“Footy is a funny thing, it turns around pretty quickly,” he said.

“I think from our point of view, we're just happy things are starting to click and this will be another opportunity to see if our method and the way we go about our footy is good enough for the top one, top two kind of thing.

“We believe it is, but we're just going to be able to do that and show that against really strong competition, so we're looking forward to the challenge.”

LBU clings on to fifth place on the ladder after the win, with Leitchville-Gunbower hot on its heels in sixth after another impressive win.

HDNL

It was a tough day on the court for Lockington-Bamawm United in the Heathcote District Netball League A-grade competition, copping an 18-88 smashing at the hands of the undefeated Elmore.

The Cats have now endured back-to-back thumpings, having lost by more than 40 points last week against Heathcote, and now sit on the bottom of the ladder.

LBU will take on Mount Pleasant at home next week, although it will be tough ask, as the Mounts currently sit in fourth on the ladder and look to be in the finals mix.