The opening rounds of the Ballarat Netball League season haven’t panned out the way Darley would have liked.
The Devils are struggling with consistency, which has cost them dearly with just two wins from their opening eight games.
Speaking before Saturday’s match, Devils’ coach Marika Barnes said they could have won at least three more games had they taken their opportunities.
It was similar against Ballarat at the weekend when the Devils trailed by six goals at quarter- time before losing by eight, 39-31.
“It’s not the way we planned it to start,” Barnes said. “We could have been up the ladder.
“Three games – Redan, Sunbury and last weekend – we could have, and should have, won.”
Barnes said the biggest issue was that good netball was being played only in patches.
She said this was partly due to having a new team and players learning each other’s game.
“It’s a new side, with only three players from last year,” the coach said.
“We’ve got a new goaler in Tara Parker; Brooke Pengelly has stepped into the midcourt, while Ashlee Depetro is a versatile player who hasn’t played much because of injury.”
Meanwhile, Courtney Barnes has come up through the lower grades into the A-grade team.
Barnes said that despite the A-graders not getting the results they were after, there was still an improvement on recent years.
“Against North Ballarat City at three-quarter time, we were down by eight to 10 goals before they ran away with it in the last quarter,” she said.
“We were used to losing to sides like that by 30 to 40 goals. So I’ve said, ‘keep your heads up, we’re improving’.”
Barnes, who is also netball co-ordinator for the club’s junior sides, said there was a lot of talent coming through the club.
“Melanie Freeman is a bright up-and-comer who the past couple of weeks has played in C and B grades, and she was best on court in the B-grade match. She’s only 15.
“In our under-19s, we have three permanent players, who are still playing under-17s and are standing up and doing well.”
The Devils sit ninth on the ladder ahead of Bacchus Marsh and Melton South.
On Saturday, Bacchus Marsh lost 48-38 to Redan, while Melton South was thrashed by North Ballarat City, 87-21.
Melton’s hopes of closing in on the top six failed with Sunday’s 47-33 loss against Ballarat.
