Perfect Season on the line against RC Serpents
It’s a Wednesday in Richmond, the weather has been unseasonably cold and the Australian Open has been won and run for another year. Its normally around this time that sports fans find themselves starting to look towards the footy season, not in Richmond though, all you hear on people’s lips is talk of the Pythons. Talk that the Pythons are on the cusp of perfect season for the first time in Melbourne Netball Div. 1 history. The girls find themselves with an opportunity to stand on the shoulders of giants. To look down on the great teams that have gone before them, the Serpents of 2014 and the Vipers of 2013, the Pythons find themselves with an amazing opportunity to cement their spot, rightfully in my opinion, as the greatest of all time.
The Summer break saw the girls get together on multiple occasions as a tight family unit. Jess hosted a great birthday bash that ended (as far as i’m concerned) with the core of the Pythons belting out Adele’s “Hello” on repeat. Rumor has it that some of players partied on later into the night and but for the lack of video footage, some players may have seen themselves sanctioned by the playing group for their behavior on the night.
Best on Ground for Jess event: Laura Hindson.
Turning up to Netball last week to see Jess Larritt being interviewed for a web based player profile really drove home the profile the Pythons are getting in Richmond. With that publicity comes pressure, and we are in a blessed position now where the Pythons are well and truly the benchmark, every other team is a greyhound, chasing the finely tuned hare that we have become.
Halfway point statistical update:
Maria, Parker and Langerak are the only three Pythons with 100% attendance this season.
Langerak has dropped 111 goals with 68.9% accuracy. Parker is very close behind with 93 goals at 67.4%. The next best Python is Hindson with 12 goals.
Fed Kaso has played 2 games so far, expect her to play another 2 before the end of the home and away season so we qualify her for the finals. She’s part of the family and we’re much better with her in the team.
The Sandy Robertson Medal for Summer 2016 remains a closely run affair, with 5 players above 50 votes for the season.
We have 2 performances nominated for individual performance of the season.
When Jen plays, the Pythons allow 3 less goals per game on average.
As a team, the Pythons have a 265% Goal Difference.
The Old Enemy:
This week we take on a reformed Serpents team coming off a couple of big wins. The Serpents remain one of old strongest competition and indeed, one of two teams that has beaten us in the last 6 months. Behind closed doors, there is plenty of chat that the Pythons will need to be on form. Jess Larritt is looking to regain her form from the back half of last season and her combination with Alanna Dunne will be critical in slowing Kirsty who is a very good shooter. Key match up of the game will no doubt be the Centre battle between Maria and the highly athletic girl who’s name I don’t know. She has really brought a renewed vigor to the Serpents and the last time we lost to them, basically put the team on her back and dragged them over the line. Jen comes back from a few weeks off going hard being a lawyer and Laura returns from New Zealand better for the experience. Ready to dominate the mid court (and potentially the shooting circle depending on Parker’s
fitness).
