BFNL netball: Magpies upbeat ahead of Eaglehawk clash

While disappointed to be on the end of a nine-goal loss to Strathfieldsaye last weekend, Magpies coach Alicia Cassidy insisted there were plenty of encouraging signs from her players.

She is optimistic the Magpies can start to gain some traction in this weekend's round four encounter against Eaglehawk at Maryborough.

Both sides will enter the clash at 0-2, with Eaglehawk responding from a heavy loss against Kangaroo Flat in round one to push within two goals of South Bendigo a fortnight ago.

It was a similar tale last week for the Magpies, who were soundly beaten by Sandhurst in round one, but recovered to produce a much stronger effort against the Storm.

The Magpies actually led the Strathfieldsaye by four goals at quarter time and trailed by only one at half time and three at the final change of end before succumbing 60-51.

Cassidy is vowing to remain upbeat and is urging his players to be likewise.

"We were much more competitive than we were against Sandhurst, so I was really proud of the girls, but it's probably one we've let slip through our fingers," she said.

"(Storm's) defensive pressure in that last quarter brought plenty of intensity and forced our girls into errors, and their attack end really stood up.

"These are the games we need to win, but we do need to pull out the positives.

"I said to the girls afterward that it was a big turnaround from game one and we did meet our benchmark of scoring at least 10 goals each quarter, albeit we didn't want them getting over 10 a quarter.

"Attacking-wise it worked much better with Jordan (Macilwain) and Keely (Hare) back in goals, but we have some work to do in our defensive end."

An obvious bright spark for the Magpies has been the stellar early-season form of centre Ella Tranter, who continues to enhance her reputation with each performance.

Cassidy branded Saturday's clash against the Hawks as a must-win for her developing side, which will be bolstered by the returns of Chrissy James and Brandy Santon, who missed last weekend against the Storm.

"This will be our first A-grade match at home and we always play well at home, so it's definitely one we must win," she said.

"The Gilmore (Ash and Abby) girls in attack will certainly make it tough for us.

"(Eaglehawk) obviously had a good hit-out against South, so we will both be striving for a win."

READ MORE:

Storm look to build on first win

Ruby's long-awaited chance to sparkle in state under-19 team

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: