After suffering as many losses in five rounds as in their entire home and away season last year, Echuca’s netballers are in a position where they simply need to get back to winning in order to keep themselves in the hunt for a top three finish.
The Bombers bounced back this week with a ten goal victory against Mansfield.
For coach Gina Pearson, it was not going to be an easy clash.
We knew it was going to be a pretty tough game for us in terms of the quality of play,” she said.
“Mansfield haven’t had a lot pf wins this year, but their results have been close. They haven’t been blown out in any of the contests this season, so we by no means expected it was going to be an easy clash.
“What we didn’t expect was how physical they were going to play. In the opening stages of the match they were really tough and were able to get on top of the contest. They had us by eight goals at the opening quarter of the match.”
As is the tradition of Pearson led Echuca sides, the magnets were thrown around position wise.
“We moved Bridget Byrne into goal keeper, she was probably best on court for us in the end,” Pearson said.
“Our defensive pressure in the second half of the match was fantastic, we were really able to work our way back into the match and get on top of the contest.”
The win solidifies Echuca’s spot in the six for another week, though they will have their work cut out for them this Saturday against Rochester.
Pearson said she believes the sides are not too different in the way they play.
“I think Rochester have some issues around their consistency on the court in the same way we do,” she said.
“They have a lot of talent on the court, they work hard but can’t always produce the way they want, which is quite like how we are at times.
“Where the game will be one and lost will be on the defensive end. Both sides have a lot o quality there, so whoever can be better in this area will probably get the win.”
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