Tatura cannot wait to return to the court this weekend and for good reason.
The Bulldogs are on a rampaging run this season, but fell at the hands of Shepparton last round in a slight bungle amid what has been a champagne campaign in comparison to last year.
Fiona Boyer’s charges were forced to stew on the loss during last weekend’s bye, and with the next opposition none other than Mooroopna, there’s redemption ― and a possible spot in first ― on the table come Saturday.
“It’s been annoying that we’ve had a week off and we’ve had to wait two weeks to get together again on the court playing at that high standard,” Boyer said.
“It would’ve been good to correct some of our mistakes immediately after our Shepp game and put in place some of the things we learnt from that game.
“Our intensity when we had turnovers probably wasn’t up to what we needed it to be.
“When you’re playing against good teams they’re going to create mistakes and we need to recover quickly and be able to put our pressure on in defence.”
Keeping the ball out of its own net is precisely what second placed Mooroopna prides itself on.
The Cats have the competition’s most stringent defence on paper with 299 goals conceded, 63 less than the next best in Tatura, and are coming off a landmark victory over Euroa.
Victory on Saturday would elevate Di Hanslow’s side to first and create a four-point gap over Euroa, while a big win for Tatura should have it jump over both those outfits on percentage.
But Boyer knows of Mooroopna’s powers, especially in the midcourt.
“Their midcourt is really strong with Asha Gray and Bree Hanslow, so we’re going to have to work hard in defence to turn that ball over as often as we can and then capitalise on that turnover,” she said.
“We’re going to have to be calm and controlled going into attack and give our goalers all the confidence that they need to get those shots up.
“And we need to stay calm when they’re putting pressure on us, we need to keep level heads and make good decisions under pressure.
“I think that will make us very competitive in the game ― I’m not expecting an easy one that’s for sure.”
While Boyer remains wary of some of Mooroopna’s threats, she has a quiet suspicion one of her own will stand tall when asked at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve.
“I have just been delighted with what Molly Boyle is putting out on the court each week in goal defence,” she said.
“Di (Hanslow) is a very talented coach and she can bring any goaler up to standard, so Molly will have her work cut out shutting down their goalers.
“Potentially Taylah Lloyd or Hannah Onley (will play there), Jaz Clark is another one I think that’s been playing in goals, but Molly’s up for the job.”
With two mighty match-ups in the form of Mooroopna and Echuca in front of the Bulldogs, there is no guarantee they will hold their place in third midway through July.
But for now, after already quadrupling its win tally from last season, there’s a certain devil-may-care freedom to Tatura’s game currently which has to be admired.
“I’m elated with an 8-2 win loss ratio; when you compare that with what we were putting out there last season, it’s absolutely fantastic,” Boyer said.
“That top six is such a competitive group of teams and sitting one or two is where I think each club in that top six would like to be to give themselves a second chance in the finals.
“Any team is beatable and any team can win on the day, so I want to make sure we’re at one or two.
“The next two games are super important for us to set us up for the end of the season.”