Warriors Women ready to give it a red hot crack

They say a week is a long time in football but in the CBL it feels like a nanosecond as Wangaratta Warriors Women ready for a rematch against last week's opponent Wodonga Wolves. After being jumped at the start and forced to play catch-up for the rest of the match last Sunday, Warriors will be keen to get off to a flier on Saturday on the Wolves home deck. It was just the Warriors' second game together, compared to the experienced Wolves who had already notched up four games on court this season. Coach Julie Richardson said despite the recent 24 point loss to Wodonga, the focus for her young team was to continue to work hard to steadily improve each week and become a consistent competitive force in the league. "The plan is to continue working on playing under pressure and to continue creating space to create options for the team, and protecting the basket," Richardson said. "For this weekend, that means shutting down the scoring options for Emerson [O'Neill, Wodonga's top scorer last week], and slowing down the base drives from Stacey Browne and Jamie Sandilands." Warriors will be without last week's top scorer Mia Ford and Julia Harvey this week, so the scoring duties will look to be shared by the likes of Anna Ford, Zara Berry, Chaye Crimmins and Scarlett Mullarvey. For soon-to-be 23 year old Berry, the added responsibility of playing post was a challenge to look forward to as she works to establish herself as a CBL player. "I played CBL for a couple of years [with Myrtleford] but with limited minutes on court," she said. "I'm older now and here at Warriors I've come out of my shell a bit more. "I love playing point but as I'm the tallest I'll be playing post. "I know I'm not the strongest but I will give it a red hot crack." Warriors teammate Tahlia Pallpratt was also looking forward to the rematch against Wodonga, confident the team was on the improve with each game. "We're still all getting to know each other whereas some of the other teams have been together for years," Pallpratt said. "We have a good range of ages and will continue to focus on working together as a team. "This week will be all about simple basketball, and keeping that ball safe." Although this is Pallpratt's first time playing at CBL level, she's no stranger to the competition after being a regular A grade referee for some years, and a good one at that according to Berry. "I have always been a watcher but now I'm playing and hope to keep getting better, along with the team." It's going to be a tough challenge against the second-placed Wolves but if the enthusiasm and desire to improve shown by Berry and Pallpratt is shared by the rest of the team, it won't be for want of trying. Tip off between Warriors and Wolves is at 4pm on court one at the Wodonga Sports and Leisure Centre on Saturday 31 October.

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