Pythons deliver on a perfect night in Richmond
Coach Baron spent his Thursday half working; half getting himself pumped for what he thought was a top of the table clash. Turns out he got the Cobras and the Vipers mistaken and we were actually playing third on the ladder but it was still a big game!
The girls turned up nice and early, and the warm-up was the best we have ever done. With a full complement of players to choose from this week, Laura, Elle, Alanna and Parker would spend some time on the bench as Coach Baron continues to remind the team we’re playing social netball, just going fuckin hard to make sure we win premierships.
The warm-up proved a master stroke from Baron as the Pythons jumped out to a 7-0 first quarter lead, Elle Smart leading from the front in the mid-court with a solid first quarter performance and Langerak missing five straight shots before making her next six. Maria started the game as she finished and had one of her best games in months really dominating the opposition centre and getting plenty of tips off the centre pass although she couldn’t quite drag the ball in for a clean turnover.
Jumping out to a 7 goal lead generally allows the team to settle a little and have some fun and we certainly did that with Jess Larritt stepping up and having a huge second quarter with career high 3 clean interceptions. Laura started her shooting with 100% accuracy only to miss her next 3 shots from long range to finish at 25% accuracy for the quarter.
By the third quarter, the girls got a little flustered as they started thinking about the Bachelor Season 2 finale with only Langerak and Elle the two non-bachie fans stepping up and having solid quarters. The Cobras to their credit kept fighting and at one point pulled the game back within 5 goals.
The 4th quarter couldn’t finish soon enough as the Cobra’s fought back well, the Pythons showed some good defensive hustle with Jen notably lifting for the final term as the man of her dreams and part owner of her new two bedroom place in Collingwood turned up to watch at the Ryan’s Reserve International Netball stadium. With Aram in town for the first time in a month, Parker struggled with her focus but dropped three crucial 4th quarter buckets to put the game to bed.
Final Score:
RC Pythons 25 RC Cobras 16
Vipers next week for real this time, so the Pythons will be visualising and focusing in a bid to return back to premiership glory in a few weeks’ time.
Sandy Robertson Medal Update:
The race for the Sandy Robertson Medal is hotting up with only 4 rounds to go before finals. Lets just hope no players get suspended before the finals and deem themselves ineligible.
