by Holly Slattery
The Bull Sharks put up a fierce fight against the Cougars at USC Stadium on the Sunshine Coast on Sunday but lost to the home team 40-37 in netball’s Ruby Series.
The Bond side fought hard until the major break with only one point separating the teams after the first two quarters. It wasn’t until the third quarter that the Cougars extended their lead and ultimately prevailed.
Goal attack Sarah Bristol, who was awarded Player’s Player for her sharpshooting and impressive marking of the opposition’s goal defence, was glad to regain a full-strength side after weeks stifled by sickness.
“It was really good to have our full team with 10 players back,” she said.
“We’ve had a bit of Covid and other sickness run through the team the past few rounds so we were glad to be playing all together again.
“Going into it, we knew what we were all capable of and how well we can all play. We just went out there and gave it our all and it was just unfortunate that we didn’t put it all together.
“We only went down by three but we fought hard all the way until the end.
“There are just a few little things that we need to work on, but a lot of positives came from the game.”
This week’s training will give the team an opportunity to work on their mental strength and physicality before taking on the weekend’s double header.
Bond’s netball team is set to face QUT at the Nissan Arena on Saturday before coming up against the Titans, who are placed third on the Ruby Series ladder, at Carrara Stadium on Sunday.
“They’re both really strong teams,” Bristol said.
“QUT is fairly new to the competition too so it will be a good game between us, and then the Titans will be strong.
“We played them in a couple of matches at the beginning of the year and they played pretty well so we know it will be a tough game.
“I’ve only played at the Ruby level once before and it was for half a season, so I’m just really keen to be in it and have fun while learning lots.
“Even though we’re a fairly young team, it’s so good to see the talent amongst us and it’s exciting to have girls who are playing for the first time (at this level).
“It will be exciting to see what the future holds for us this season and how we all learn to grow as a team.”