Hobbs backs her Hawks top rebound in crucial ANZAC Day clash against Bloods

BY KIEREN ILES

BENDIGO TIMES

EAGLEHAWK coach Jannelle Hobbs has declared a standalone ANZAC Day clash against South Bendigo as crucial to their season aspirations.

The Hawks will be aiming to bounce back from a 70-17 loss to premiership favourites Kangaroo Flat on Good Friday against a Bloods side looking to do likewise after coming up 16 goals short of Gisborne.

With Kangaroo Flat, reigning premiers Gisborne and Sandhurst expected to continue their reign as the BFNL netball competition’s powerhouses, wins against each other for Eaglehawk, Golden Square, South Bendigo and Strathfieldsaye will be pivotal to the aspiring quartet’s chances of landing a spot in the final five alongside the Roos, Bulldogs and Dragons.

Despite being unable to back-up their smart round one victory over Golden Square, Hobbs could not fault her players’ effort against Kangaroo Flat and insisted on drawing some positives from the performance.

“The girls kept trying, but everything we tried didn’t work and we did try a lot of things,” she said.

“Our defenders, even though they still shot 70 goals, got a lot of the ball, we just couldn’t convert.

“But we’ll regroup. We’ve tried to look at the positives, but it’s only early (in the season).

“Some might say they (Kangaroo Flat) are at their peak already, so we can only improve.

“It was a tough day at the office.”

The Hawks are sweating on the fitness of two of their key players for Friday night’s game, which will be played under lights at the QEO at 6.30pm.

They are hopeful of having dual best and fairest-winning defender Morgan Keating available, after she finished last week’s match against the Roos on the sidelines with an ankle injury, and regaining classy goal attack Lucy Morcom, who missed the game.

Hobbs, who is in her first season at Canterbury Park, said curbing the influence of South Bendigo’s star recruit and goal shooter Gabe Richards would be the undoubted key to the Hawks’ chances against the Bloods.

While at the other end of the court, she is backing her own prolific goal shooter Chloe Langley to put her stamp on the game.

“Obviously we have to cut down the supply into Gabe,” Hobbs said.

“We have a plan for that. Allira (Holmes) will play on Gabe and she knows Gabe’s game very well from their time together.

“It’s just a matter of whether we can stick to the structure and pull it off on court.

“I have full confidence in Allira.

“We have a strong scoring line-up of our own, so if we can get the ball into Langers (Chloe Langley) and feed her properly, which we are working on, we are a chance of getting over the top of them.”

On a personal note, the clash will hold plenty of sentiment for Hobbs, who is coming up against one of her two former BFNL clubs for the first time, after having coached the Bloods from 2018 to 2023, including to finals appearances in 2019, 2022 and 2023.

The clash has not only brought with it some extra nerves, but some added expectations.

“It’s always a bit hard coming up against your old club, and I still have a lot of friends there,” Hobbs said.

“I think the teams are at similar levels and match up well.”

Adding to the emotion, Hobbs will be coaching for the first time against Lauren Bowles, one of the linchpins of her strong Kangaroo Flat teams during the mid-2010s.

The pair have done some coaching together, including with Bendigo South East College’s Athlete Development Program, but have never faced off against each other in a game for premiership points.

Hobbs is hoping to go one up in the ledger of what shapes as an exciting friendly rivalry between them.

“Lauren is a very smart coach, and obviously I always try and pull a few tactics that might come off,” she said.

“I’ve got a few new one (tactics) up my sleeve from when we were at Kangaroo Flat; hopefully I can pull something out on Friday night.

“But the girls and I are really looking forward to the challenge.

“We’ll obviously have to play a lot better than last week to get it done.”

Regarding last week’s opponent Kangaroo Flat, Hobbs issued an ominous warning to the rest of the competition.

“They might not lose a game,” she said.

“I knew they were good, but they were just very, very slick.

“They don’t have a weak position on the court, basically.

“It’s going to be tough for anyone to stop them.”