THEY have been the two standout sides in the Bathurst Netball Association A grade competition, now City Colts and Church Bar Vixens face off today to claim the first spot in the grand final.
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Today’s major semi-final brings together two teams with just four losses between them from 24 games.
The teams go into the game with a win apiece from their two meetings this season, and their high quality of play this year means spectators can expect a classic this afternoon.
Colts put on one of their strongest halves of the season when the sides last met earlier this month, fighting back from being six points down at half-time to take the match 28-24.
Colts coach Laura Miller says that last match gives her confidence that her team can put on a repeat performance.
“That was a really great game for us to be able to put on a 10-point turnaround like that. We learned that we could go out there and take it to them. It’s about going in there and trying to play the same game again,” she said.
“We will need to be strong on defence and attack and have to play very quickly because they will be quick on the court as well.”
It’s been a memorable season for Miller and her defending champions, who haven’t lost a match since May.
“This year everything seems to have just run along smoothly. Players have been playing across a lot of positions, but always doing well. It’s been very hard to choose a starting seven every week because everyone’s in such good form,” she said.
“Finishing on top was a nice surprise considering how rusty we were early. Because of those early washouts we never felt like we got into a routine.”
The team that inflicted the Colts’ last loss was none other than the Vixens, who won 48-37.
Vixens coach Tegan Kastelein thinks it’s going to be a hard game.
“I expect Colts to come out firing,” she said. “They’re a team that has continued to develop all season, but if we get on top of some of their bigger players then I think we’re a chance of winning.
“It’s nice that we got the two guaranteed weeks and that helps to take a little bit of the pressure off.”
Vixens don’t come into the finals with the most ideal of lead-ins. They had a bye last round, after claiming a 10-point win over fellow finalists Panthers.
The Vixens are down two players on their team of a month ago, but Kastelein believes the players have adapted well to their positional changes.
“We’ve had eight players now over the last four weeks, but they’ve worked really hard to fill their roles,” she said.
“For the last couple of weeks our third quarter has been something that has let us down and that’s something that we’ll be focusing on fixing this week.”
The match will start at 3.15pm.