Young Melbourne Vixens shooters overawed, says coach Julie Hoornweg
VIXENS coach Julie Hoornweg concedes the inexperience of her team's attack end was exposed in their grand final loss to NZ.
MELBOURNE Vixens coach Julie Hoornweg has conceded the inexperience of her team's attack end was exposed in yesterday's grand final loss to the Waikato/ Bay of Plenty Magic.
The Magic denied the Vixens an historic second trans-Tasman title in front of a full house at Hisense Arena, while themselves becoming the first New Zealand team to win the ANZ Championship in their third attempt.
The Vixens led the match until mid-way through the final quarter before being overrun by the Magic to lose 41-38.
Statistically, the Vixens shooting accuracy proved costly, with the team shooting 38 goals from 55 attemps compared to the Magic's 41 from 50.
We're all shattered, we're all disappointed. We have got to move on. That game is in the past now.
Hoornweg admitted after the match her goaling combination of goal shooter Karyn Howarth (22/29) and goal attack Tegan Caldwell (16/26), both playing in their first trans-Tasman finals series, might have been overawed on the grand final stage.
"It probably shows a bit of inexperience doesn't it?'' Hoornweg said. "That's something we have been working on all year to build up our attacking end and they've been performing well, but perhaps today that was an occasion just a little bit too big."
Vixens captain Bianca Chatfield believed the experience of the Magic's seasoned defensive combination of goal defence Casey Williams and goal keeper Leana de Bruin, who was named the grand final MVP, had proved the difference.
"Especially with Laura (Langman) in the centre, she played a great game as usual as she has all year,'' Chatfield said. "They just knew how to get into our heads in the end and we unfortunately left our run too late.
"I think we just became a bit anxious. The experience in their defence end certainly shone through."
Hoornweg said she had been tempted to make changes to the shooting end, but never went through with it.
"We did, but every time we talked about it they would lift and start to come back into a game,'' Hoornweg said.
"There wasn't a moment where I thought they were out for too long. We had some strong hands in there and were actually getting the ball - you just hope their rhythym and their timing and their feel for the shot comes back.''
Chatfield, who was a member of the Vixens' 2009 championship win, said the playing group was shattered from the loss, but expected everyone to learn from the experience.
"That's what we want everyone to do from this, it has got to become a learning experience now,'' Chatfield said.
"We have had some players like Karyn Howarth, who's in her first year - it has been an incredible rise for her to get to where she is and I think she will learn a lot from this, and the same with Tegan.
"We're all shattered, we're all disappointed. But from my point of view we didn't work hard enough, it was in our own fault.
"We have got to move on. That game is in the past now.''
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Magic coach Noeline Taurua said her group was thrilled to create its own history.
"Obviosuly this is the last bit on the paper that we wanted to achieve at the beginning of the season," she said.
"History is in the making for us as a team, but also as a franchise in New Zealand. We are elated that we are the ones that made that history.''