Ahead of its round 10 clash with Rokewood-Corindhap in the Central Highlands Netball League A-grade competition, Gordan coach Rhonda Best says her side is ready to make some noise after years of development and building.
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The Eagles have been an afterthought in the competition for the better part of a decade and Best believes an attitude change at the club is a big reason for their recent success.
"Over the past couple of years we've worked really hard at trying to cement consistency within our teams and trying to lift our intensity," Best told The Courier.
"I know in 2010-11 we really struggled but now we've taken a really positive step towards making sure our preparation ahead of game day is at the level it should be."
Gordon currently sits in seventh on the competition with five wins over its eight games. The Eagle's three losses have come at the hands of three of the top teams in the competition (Buninyong, Hepburn and Springbank).
Best believes securing a quality win against a top eight opponent like the Hoppers will go a long way for her side's confidence.
I think it's really important for our girls... to get a win over a quality side that has lifted over the past couple of years gives us a bit of an understanding of where we are.
- Rhonda Best
"Last week the girls played quite well in a loss to Hepburn. There are still things to identify in our game that we can improve on."
The Eagles welcomed multiple new players to their A-grade side in 2019 and it has been this injection of new talent and energy that Best believes has contributed in part to the clubs success.
"I think we've had a bit of a change up everywhere... we've got four or five A-grade players who stayed on from last year and have got that connection playing together.
"When you bring new players in they bring new skill-sets and different experiences which has been really valuable.
"It's been a combination of strengthening our attack end and working the ball through the mid-court that I've been really happy with so far."
On the other side of the contest, Rokewood-Corindhap will be hoping the take home their sixth victory of the season from their trip to Gordon.
The Hoppers have lost two of their last three games and are facing a challenging run of games to close the season with games against top-eight teams Ballan, Hepburn and Dunnstown remaining.
FIXTURE:
Dunnstown v Hepburn
Gordon v Rokewood-Corindhap
Buninyong v Creswick
Newlyn v Ballan
Springbank v Clunes
Bungaree v Learmonth
Skipton v Daylesford
Waubra v Carngham-Linton
Beaufort bye.
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