The Bloods have found the going tough this season, but on Saturday against Melton South they had something to smile about.
And it wasn’t a game in which they snuck over the line – for most of it they were in control, with the 32-23 scoreline reflective of the result.
Bloods playing coach Katie Kakoschke was as excited as anyone to finally claim a victory.
“They have worked so hard this season and it’s been a real struggle, but they never gave up,” she said.
“Today there was a couple of times it was iffy and Melton South came back, but the girls kept their patience.”
Defence was where the game was set up for the Bloods, enabling them to force turnovers across the court.
Kakoschke led the way at goal defence, inspiring her younger teammates and making it hard for the Panthers to get any flow.
“All I said was we had to put pressure on all the way down the court,” Kakoschke said.
“They will get weary and make errors. Having pressure all over the court made getting intercepts a lot easier.”
Most pleasing for Kakoschke was the way the young attacking end players responded when they were challenged.
In the third quarter, the Panthers shot four straight goals to reduce the margin from six goals to two.
“Our girls, I reckon, had a five- to 10-minute period where we struggled to get it into the ring, but they composed themselves,” Kakoschke said.
“That’s what I said to them – have patience just work it down easy. In the last quarter, they walked back out and protected the ball and did what they’ve been practising all year.
“I said, ‘don’t be afraid to keep possession of the ball’. We took off in the last quarter.”
Jessica Kalmar was named best on court, while goal attack Ebony Carter (23 goals) and centre Morgan Bleszcz were also instrumental.
The only downside for the Bloods was Kakoschke coming off injured in the dying seconds after landing on her tailbone, which she injured the week before. She later admitted she had been told by doctors that she shouldn’t play due to a “bent” tailbone.
“I just had to play against Melton South,” she said.
While there’s only one round remaining in this year’s BNL season, Kakoschke said the win would be important going forward.
“They really needed it,” she said. “Last week we played one of the top teams and we were two goals down at quarter-time and they were shocked.
“I said, ‘you deserve to be that close’. They’ve been thereabouts, but they just need to build consistently. If they can keep going, I think we’ll have a good season next year.”
