Warrnambool Mermaids coach Louise Brown is hopeful her side can capatilize on the momentum its starting to gather towards the business end of the Big V division one season.
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The third-placed Mermaids walk away from this weekend’s double-header with two victories, against Chelsea Gulls (81-63) and Western Port Steelers (76-36), and improved confidence as they prepare to attack the final three games of the season.
“We need to make sure we continue to win,” Brown said.
“We want to win our last three games to give ourselves the best opportunity to potentially finish second on the ladder. If everything goes our way we could sneak into second and get a bye in the first week of finals.
“But in saying that we have three tough games in Whittlesea (fourth), Geelong (fifth) and Camperwell (eighth).
“They are three teams below us fighting for positions in the top six and those wins are going to be super important to them too.”
Brown said her charges would continue to focus on what they could control as they prepare for Whittlesea Pacers at the Arc next Sunday.
The Mermaids are two wins behind second-placed Casey Cavaliers, who play Hawthorn Magic (sixth), Chelsea Gulls (ninth) and Mildura Heat (first) in their final three games of the regular season.
It was also a successful end to the weekend for the Seahawks, who secured an 11-point victory over the higher-placed Steelers (fourth) on Sunday.
Head coach Tim Gainey praised his charges for their team effort across the whole game and said the Seahawks would take confidence from their victory.
“We communicated really well and knew where their players were for most of the day and we were able to jump away to a 20-point lead at half-time, which set us up for the rest of the game,” the playing coach said.
“The Steelers have beaten pretty much everybody else so we take take it as we can compete with anyone in the league as long as we come prepared and with the right mindset we can get wins against any opposition.”
Now Gainey and the Seahawks look to their next challenge, a home and away double-header next weekend against Sunbury (Saturday, away) and Whittlesea (Sunday, home).
“They are all teams that are around the same record as us,” he said.
“We could get a few wins here but we still have to have the right mindset to come out and execute early and stay within our game plan to really get those tough wins and grit it out.”
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.
