NIRRANDA coach Steph Townsend says meeting Warrnambool and District league reigning premier Dennington in a second semi-final holds no fears for the Blues.
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The second-year mentor is backing the Blues’ adaptability and cohesion to help them in their quest to win their first A grade grand final since 2000.
Townsend, 24, said the Blues would take confidence from their round 11 two-goal win over the Dogs into Saturday’s clash.
“We had a nice encounter. I think all the spectators said it was a really nice game to watch and it even was playing,” she said.
“You always know what you’re going to get with Dennington. They have a got a bit of a height advantage in the attacking end over our defence.”
Nirranda hopes its teamsmanship comes to the fore on the big stage.
“We have respect for each other on and off the court and good common ground across the board,” she said.
Townsend, who is playing alongside her younger sister Brooke in the attacking end, said the Blues had used the week off for finishing atop the table to finetune their skills.
She hopes the back-to-basics approach will play off against the Dogs.
“We are more focused on our own netball – on using the ball well, our brand,” she said.
“The last month it hasn’t been our greatest asset but the weekend off was good to strip everything back and work on our ball use and delivery.”
The Sue Fleming-coached Dennington is coming off an overtime qualifying final victory over Kolora-Noorat.