By Claire Macuz
There are few teams who just click.
Metro Jets’ Division 6 side has been one of the many throughout history who have struggled to click.
Channeling their inner Western Bulldogs, the Jets decided early in the season that despite the inclusion of multiple new players, new structure and an unimaginable amount of youth, they would fight.
That will to fight, to come from the outer and push through, has begun to see results, with another win against WP Lakeside on Tuesday 35-18, to take the Jets to 4 wins for the season.
Struggling to find players to fill the teams during the week, coach Claire Macuz was concerned with how newest addition Olivia Twining would fit into the side.
“Coming from a completely different dimension in the country football/netball league, Twining will need to play smart and adapt to the different umpiring that has been affecting games over the last few weeks here at Parkville,” Macuz said.
Macuz implored her players to concentrate on their structure and passing in the pre-game huddle, alongside continuing the high levels of defensive pressure which have been on display over the last few weeks.
The first term saw the Jets break away strongly to a 4 goal lead within minutes of the opening siren.
Lead by Twining in the centre and Georgia Tymms in goal defence, the duo managed 3 intercepts between them, providing a strong line of defensive pressure reducing the influx of ball deliveries to the Lakeside goalers.
Goal keeper Tristan Comans, monitored his opponent closely, focusing on a side-on defence tactic to enable a cleaner movement when there is the opportunity to take an intercept.
Comans controlled the circle with Tymms, working fluently and providing strength as the last line of defence. Controlling his leaps of defence as the Lakeside goalers attempted shots on goal, enabled Comans to deliver his highest number of intercepts in a quarter, taking home six intercepts in the second term, with eight for the first half.
Pressure on the ball was possibly the strongest element of the first half for the Jets, with both goalers, Scarlet Padden and Melissa Jones, scoring efficiently from all turnovers delivered by Comans and Tymms.
Sitting in wing defence, Brooke Zagami delivered the sorts of defensive pressure levels that coach Macuz has been looking for. Zagami provided speed off the mark and demanded that her opponents think twice before passing near her, going into half time with one intercept and two deflections to her name.
Controlling the attacking end of the midcourt, Tanya Beaumont gelled well with Twining in centre, and as a near-perfect unit delivered the ball to Padden and Jones 43 times for the match.
Beaumont provided highly-missed lengthy drives into the pockets of the court and well-timed sprints to the top of the circle, receiving the pass in these high-risk zones 15 times herself, to continue on with 12 goal-assists for the match.
Padden and Jones were exhilarating once again, and for the second week in a row, provided well-timed drives in the circle, increasing the communication within the relationship and developing the frequency of small passes between each other.
“There is a lot of improvement happening within this team. However, it is so important to realise that the improvement is coming from hard work and concentration,” noted Macuz.
The second half concluded much the same as the first, with the Jets breaking away to take the 17-goal win at the final siren.
Strong performances from all players with excellent shooting percentages from Padden and Jones, enabled the Jets to add to their total points, keeping them in touch with the top four.
This week the Jets enjoy a bye round, coming up against eleventh-placed Northern Storm the following week.
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