Tara Murray
City West Falcons enjoyed the opportunity to play in front of their home crowd in the Victorian Netball League on Wednesday night.
Instead of making the trek to the State Netball and Hockey Centre, the Falcons played their first of three games this season at Altona.
Falcons coach Marg Lind said it was nice to see a big crowd to watch them, including the next generation from Melbourne’s west.
“We’re all involved in the 11s, 13s and 15s rep sides at Altona,” she said.
“There was a great turnout of the kids that are the future and looking to come through the pathways.
“Ideally we would have preferred the school holidays, but nationals were on.
“It’s a good start and we’re got another two there and hopefully we can build on it.”
On court, the Falcons continued on their winning ways with three wins across the board against the Ariels.
In championship division, the Falcons had no trouble at all in the 82-35 win.
Lind said it was a good solid win.
“We rolled the team around a bit and we were able to see a few different combinations,” she said.
“We were way more solid than Ariels. They weren’t as experienced and that showed.”
Jane Cook shot 26 goals for the Falcons, while Maddy Gray scored 20.
Kim Borger made her debut for the Falcons scoring 16 goals.
Lind said they had signed Borger as a replacement player for Uneeq Palavi who is set to miss games later in the season with the world cup.
“Kim came in and played, which is always a challenge when someone has never played before comes in.
“When we signed her as cover for championship, we didn’t see her being picked up by the Melbourne Vixens.
“It means she hasn’t trained with us and never met some of the girls. She showed something different to what we have, with both Jane and Maddy.”
Lind said they were happy with the performance across the board.
“I’m pleased with the work Sienna [Allen] has done and her willingness to improve,” she said.
“She was a sign on with SSN [Suncorp Super Netball] last year and the year before that. She had a lot of injuries, but her progress is really pleasing and the hard work is showing off.
“Maggie [Lind] and Montana [Holmes] were good. The whole attack end was good. Scoring 82 is not easy.
Molly Kennedy, a scholarship player, played for a second straight week which was another positive.
Lind said Kennedy is another option later in the season, when they could have three players at the world cup.
The Falcons sit on top the ladder after three rounds, one of three teams with a 3-1 record.
The Falcons under-19s are also on top and undefeated, while the division 1 side has moved into the top four.
Lind said they were now getting a better idea of where everyone sits in the competition.
The Falcons next week face Melbourne University.
Lind said they were looking forward to the challenge.
“It will be tough. I think MU and Casey are teams that are on the rise. We’ve got some hard tests the next three weeks.
“We are due for a hard test.”
