Geelong Cougars are looking for back-to-back premierships albeit three years in the makings. After missing the 2020 season due to COVID and only playing 11 games in 2021, the Cougars are still trying to defend their title and while they took the long way there, Championship head coach Gerard Murphy is pretty chuffed.
“It’s pretty cool, it’s hard to go back-to-back, year after year let alone after three years so it’s pretty good. We’re just looking forward to the game, this is what you come to play for and the girls are excited about getting out there in another Grand Final. They love the stage and the opportunity to play together.
The Cougars will not only be represented in the Championship division but also in Division 1, which is a key feat for the club.
“It’s awesome, a really good testament to our performance for the year. We were hoping to get to finals given our form after the first few rounds and then finishing on top. We were aiming to make the finals, so we’re happy to be there in Championship but to have two teams in, exceeds my expectations,” he said.
“We aim to get teams in finals, having two teams in Grand Finals is excellent. Division 1’s form has come together in the last month which is what we had hoped for and knew that they could do so they’ve really stepped up and that’s been excellent as well.”
Murphy praised the combination between shooting stalwarts Julia Woolley and Zanna Woods with the pair striking up an electric partnership.
“They’re both really creative and have really good vision and timing. They’ve played together a lot now, they also play football netball together on a Saturday regularly. They’re both really skilled and their hand eye co-ordination is extraordinary, so I tend to just let them roll with it.
Having played City West Falcons in the semi finals Murphy has spent plenty of time analysing the game plan and fine tuning their systems to ensure they can change the result this time around, highlighting the importance of maintaining momentum.
“We just need to make sure that we don’t get ourselves in a position to allow them to build that momentum and to let the crowd in. The goal is to maintain that consistency that we had for the three quarters and push it through to the last.”
The Falcons had somewhat of an eighth player in their semi final clash against the Cougars with the crowd well and truly a factor. But Geelong is hoping to learn from that and use it to their benefit.
“We did a little bit more noise creation at training and a few scenarios to get them used to it. They’re all experienced players, there’s combinations in there that have been playing together for a long time and they don’t need to communicate that much together verbally, they know how to set up and what to do. They just need to make sure they connect as a team together in those moments and just continue to encourage that positive energy and they’ll be fine,” he said.
Although there is no specific winning formula, the instructions are simple – contest every ball that comes your way.
“Get out there, get your hands onto the ball, get a flow and then work your way through any different tactics that the opposition are doing against us. We’ll be introducing a couple of little tweaks. We just have to get out there have a good game,” he said.
Fixture:
Championship
8.40pm - City West Falcons v Geelong Cougars
Division 1
6.50pm - Hawks Netball v Geelong Cougars
19/Under
7.00pm - City West Falcons v Wilson Storage Southern Saints
