Strikers chasing breakthrough VNL victories against Waves

Coach Tracey Brereton's championship team will be chasing an historic first win in the state's premier netball competition when they take on the Waves at 7pm at the State Netball Centre.

The Strikers - one of three new clubs competing in the VNL this season - have made great strides through the first four weeks of the season despite their 0-3 record.

Just how far they have come was illustrated in last week's gut-wrenching two-goal loss to the undefeated North East Blaze (3-0), easily the best of their three performances to date.

A clash against the 0-4 Waves shapes as a crucial opportunity to gain not only a morale-boosting victory, but plenty of confidence for the long season ahead.

Impressed with last week's comeback from seven goals down at three-quarter time and overall performance, Brereton is keen to see a strong follow-up - or more importantly - no let up.

"The way that we are playing and the way that we are pushing, it is only a matter of time before it turns into a win," she said.

"The Waves haven't won yet either, and they have been a club that have been in the VNL for a long time, so they are established and won't take things lying down.

"But maybe there is an opening for us to really go for it.

"You look at it and think we should have, could have beaten Saints (in round one) and (last) Wednesday night against Blaze we were close.

"All you need is a few results to go you way and you have more wins on your side than losses."

While a win has yet to materialise, Brereton could not be prouder of her players' progress so far and hoped others in the central Victorian netball community shared the optimism and pride.

"They really are developing," she said.

"What I do like is that the girls are good at not dwelling on things.

"They were disappointed not to win (last week) and they bin it, but they learn and move on.

"We never lose, but always learn.

"The competition is so tough and so close - if you have a bad night, or are not quite on song, any team can roll you.

"Hopefully it's us rolling a few teams."

The Strikers will confront the Waves, who were beaten 73-47 by Melbourne University Lightning last week, with plenty of players in form, headed by goalers Teal Hocking and Milly Brock, skipper Meg Williams, and defender Ruby Turner.

Brock was in excellent form for her country league club Tongala on the weekend, playing a pivotal role in the reigning Murray league premiers' opening round win over Nathalia.

Strikers 23-and-under coach Jayden Cowling has urged his side to 'grasp the opportunity ahead' in a battle between the only two teams in the competition without a win after four rounds.

The Strikers will be aiming to bounce back after a 25-goal loss to a polished North East Blaze, in a game in which they were within striking distance at half time before a second-half fade out.

Cowling, who is representing Victoria this week at the men's national championships in Brisbane and will miss the game, said a win would give his players 'no end of confidence'.

"As we saw last week, we won the second quarter and the girls' energy and mood just lifted so much during it," he said.

"It was the same the previous week against Falcons when we played our best netball.

"A win would mean so much to them.

"The Waves have had a slow start to the season as well, so I think we can match up against them pretty well.

"I'm confident we can get our first win - no disrespect to Peninsula.

"Hopefully both the champs and 23s can get up. It would be a real lift for everyone involved."

Cowling identified overcoming costly turnovers and lapses in concentration and momentum as the keys to their fortunes on Wednesday.

Strikers director of coaching Carol Cathcart and regular assistant coach Tarryn Rymer will share the 23-and-under coaching duties against the Waves.

Game starts at 8.30pm.