PORTLAND coach Lauren Hockley knows a slight adjustment in the way her side uses the ball can make a world of difference to it defending a winnable score.
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The winless Tigers have the seventh-highest scoring total with 232 goals, including four straight games of 40-plus scores this season but their defensive stats show where they are falling down.
Hockley's side has conceded 358 goals, the most in the league by 14, and the second-year mentor conceded her team's ball use was a key factor in the total.
"We are gaining the ball but we aren't finishing it off and mid-court errors are something we have got to work on getting better at. Finding better options and not just the first option," the playing-coach said.
"It (improving the ball use) is down to individual to not rush. We have to be smart about it and take in the big picture as the obvious person is not always the right option."
MORE NETBALL:
Hockley said her side's ball use would be critical to claiming a scalp over the an improved Terang Mortlake outfit, which sits fourth on the ladder.
"They will be tough as they were down bottom with us last season and have improved a lot," she said.
"We have just got to be smart and play possession netball. We're not thinking too much about what the opposition is doing but working on our own goals that we've been trying to put in place."
Hockley has been impressed by a number of players who are beginning to find some form.
"Tonaya Bannam had a year off to have a baby and she is starting to find her feet again," she said.
"Remy Grant, in centre, is our strong, go-get-the-ball type of player and Madeline Nash has come in and had a good start to the year in defence, which is not her normal position but she seems up for challenge.
"We've also got younger players like Jaymie Falconer and Sharlie Trigg, who are still only 18-19.
"They're ones who need to bring the smart passes into their game as they're now both senior netballers who have to start to think they are senior players."
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Sean Hardeman
I'm a sports journalist for the Warrnambool Standard who covers a number of different sports across the south-west of Victoria. I enjoy watching cycling, surfing, football, soccer and Formula 1.
I'm a sports journalist for the Warrnambool Standard who covers a number of different sports across the south-west of Victoria. I enjoy watching cycling, surfing, football, soccer and Formula 1.
