Forbes Netball Association State League division two coach Robyn Kenny said her players put in an outstanding performance in this year’s State League, finishing fourth overall. The finals were staged in Orange last Sunday, with Forbes facing Bathurst and Orange.
They went down in a very tight match for the second time against Bathurst, after losing to them in round one of the competition, and played for third place against Orange. Unfortunately for the yellow and blue side, they again went down in a tight tussle, and settled for fourth place overall. But having come so close to reaching the grand final, and having recorded some good wins in their State League campaign, Kenny said there were a lot of positives for the FNA to take from this year’s State League.
“We had some very unlucky games, and when luck isn’t on your side, there isn’t a great deal you can do about it,” she said. “There were minor things we weren’t getting right, such as turnovers, and they were the difference in winning and losing games.”
Forbes lead most of their matches against Bathurst and Orange, but turnovers in the last stages of each match lead both sides back into the contest, which they would ultimately win. Bathurst went on to finish the competition undefeated and win the title, but Kenny said when you compare how long her team has played together with how long the Bathurst players have been together for, her team’s results were very impressive.
“I couldn’t be happier with how the players played, considering that Bathurst have been together for quite a few years now, and we haven’t been able to train as much as we’d like to either,” she said. “The games we lost were still very close. We just lacked the structure to finish them off and maintain our leads to get back in front.” “We’ve had a great time over the last few weeks for State League, and the players have shown great sportsmanship.”
The players will now focus on the FNA’s local Saturday competition, and will start preparing for the Forbes Carnival on May 1, before deciding whether or not to enter into any other regional carnivals.