Wow what a great result, finishing fifth and to be the only Northern Side to make the finals is a great achievement.

Although we might all feel a little worse for wear (some of us) it was a great team effort and well worth the pain.

To our supporters and our Sponsors I hope we have done you all proud.

To the supporters that travelled to cheer us on a HUGE, HUGE, BIG THANKYOU to you all it is a great feeling to know that these little fish in the big pond have a lot of support.

Thank you to everyone who sent well wishes and kept Barbs phone running hot for most of the weekend.

To our bench Barb, Carol, Gaz, Anna, Carmz, Shanita & Poppy (absent GOODY) we hope we didn’t stress you all out too much, your spirits and cheering kept us going all weekend. Youngie I know you needed some quiet time after the 3^rd game to regather your composure and get you heart beating properly but I won’t apologise for that!!!!

I’m not going to mention anything about the games as we all know where we ended up but I will say

WELL DONE TO ALL OF US YOU SHOULD ALL BE PROUD OF YOUR EFFORTS we achieved what we aimed for and more.

LOOKOUT FINALS HERE COME THE CAPCLAWS!!!

Filed under:

Wow what a great result, finishing fifth and to be the only Northern Side to make the finals is a great achievement. Although we might all feel a little worse for wear (some of us) it was a great team effort and well worth the pain. To our supporters and our Sponsors I hope we [...]

The day started off with an amazing breakfast thanks to Carol and Garry. The feeling amongst the girls was positive and everyone was keen to upset the second seeded team on the ladder, Wildcats.

Our warm up was intense and set the scene as we stepped onto the court for what was set to be an extremely tough game for us.

We started a little slow, but soon pulled it back and took the lead and never really looked back. I still remember that moment where I realised that we could actually win this.

The ball flowed from one end to the other and everything just seemed so easy. Our defenders were getting tips and intercepts and our shooters just sunk everything they were given.

It was a personal highlight for me as I made a return to the WD position which I absolutely loved. It was just great knowing that I could just go out there and play and work hard and defend my butt off without the pressure of having to feed into the circle.

Our second game was a somewhat different picture. We took the court and started with a bang, leading 5 goals to 0, but then let Tigers back into it with some very silly mistakes on our part. We were leading at first break but were down at half time by 4 goals.

Everything just seemed rushed and we made some bad choices that resulted in turnovers that then resulted in goals for the opposition and we just couldn’t pull it back.

Although we lost the game, we know that we were not beaten by the better team, we are the better team, and we just didn’t play well and ultimately beat ourselves. Tigers made us pay for our mistakes and unfortunately, in our game this afternoon, we made a few too many mistakes.

We are still positive as we look towards our two games tomorrow. Losing our game this afternoon just makes that much hungrier and I can promise you that…. the CLAWS are out and we are keen to right our wrongs from this afternoon.

The games will be tough, but we know we have what it takes to beat them, so stay tuned J.

Filed under:

The day started off with an amazing breakfast thanks to Carol and Garry. The feeling amongst the girls was positive and everyone was keen to upset the second seeded team on the ladder, Wildcats. Our warm up was intense and set the scene as we stepped onto the court for what was set to be [...]

As we begin this weekend I have mixed emotions….as I’m not playing, I’m still nervous and very excited to be here, but a big part of me wishes I were playing too! It’s soooo great to be able to travel to Brisbane to support the team, the last few months have been a very enjoyable experience and we have formed such a great team unit. So even though there are only ten players taking the court each round, it’s the presence and support of the other squad members, Barb and our awesome Managers Carol and Garry, that create such a strong team bond.

Kicking of this morning with a win over the 2^nd placed team Wildcats, was so exciting to watch! The girls played strong and positive and it was brilliant to see how much that each individual has improved, we stuck to our cool, calm, collected Claws style netball!!!

Unfortunately we couldn’t back up that win against Tigers, and as hard as it was to watch, it would’ve been just as hard to play and I know the girls still tried their best during the entire game.

So it’s off to bed now and tomorrow is another day….the Cap Claws are resting and will be back bigger and better tomorrow!!!!!

GO THE CLAWS!!!!!!

Filed under:

As we begin this weekend I have mixed emotions….as I’m not playing, I’m still nervous and very excited to be here, but a big part of me wishes I were playing too! It’s soooo great to be able to travel to Brisbane to support the team, the last few months have been a very enjoyable [...]

What a great start to the weekend!! A six goal win over Wildcats (that were second on the ladder might I add). Everyone was so pumped up and ready to play a great game of netball, and did we ever!

It was one of the greatest games that I have ever played, the girls are such an amazing team to play with and being able to be out on the court with everyone playing with such enthusiasm was brilliant. We went into the second game aware that if we won all four games of the weekend we would most likely end up finishing second on the ladder before finals..

Unfortunately, that wasn’t to happen, with us losing our second game to Tigers. We all fought hard but it just didn’t happen. As we have tonight to gather our thoughts and think about how we can better our game tomorrow, the excitement and nerves are still upon us, as making finals would be an ultimate result for the team.

There is faith in all ten players that no matter who is on the court a win can be the final result. And tomorrow, we are going to show that!! Hopefully taking home three wins from four.

THE CLAWS ARE DEFINATELY OUT!!

Filed under:

What a great start to the weekend!! A six goal win over Wildcats (that were second on the ladder might I add). Everyone was so pumped up and ready to play a great game of netball, and did we ever! It was one of the greatest games that I have ever played, the girls are [...]

What a ripper of a weekend! Unfortunately, I did not get to play this weekend, but was still able to be heavily involved in the weekend taking on the Assistant Coaching duties. This was a massive bonus for me to still play a part in helping the team collect the North Qld Title.

It was brilliant to watch the girls rip in and see all our hard training come together on the court. I was so impressed to see the way Tracy Upton organised the girls all over the court from the Centre position. I still got to learn from her, even though I was in the coaching ranks. She has a wonderful, calming influence on the court.

I want to thank Capricorn Netball and Barb Ahmat for supporting me in taking on the AC duties. It is wonderful to be a part of such a professional organisation and learn from such impressive people. I got an insight into the behind the scenes happenings of the Claws and wow, does a lot of work go on that the players don’t realise. It was great to develop a better understanding of Senior Rep Netball from a coaching view. It is also scary how much Barb & I thought alike. (Good scary, Coach!)

Most importantly, Cap Claws: 2010 North Qld Champs (check!)

Watch out Brissy, we aren’t finished yet.

Filed under:

What a ripper of a weekend! Unfortunately, I did not get to play this weekend, but was still able to be heavily involved in the weekend taking on the Assistant Coaching duties. This was a massive bonus for me to still play a part in helping the team collect the North Qld Title. It was [...]

What a weekend!!!!!!!!. 4 out of 4 is a fantastic result, we went in wanting this result and we got it. Our first game was filled with a lot of anxiety and not knowing what we could really achieve together. When we hit the 3rd quarter of the first game, there was a buzz in the team knowing all our hard work that we put in showed in our game. By the last quarter of our last game we were ecstatic! The feeling of accomplishing what we set.

out to do was very rewarding. Personally I felt proud to play alongside our up and coming stars. Our junior players Shanita and Poppy stood up and were noticed. Their confidence grew with every quarter, we are all so proud of them. Special mention must go to our supporters, wow were they loud. Our coaching staff of Barb, Katherine, Carol, Garry and Anna your feedback was always positive and very much appreciated.

We are training hard to hopefully kick butt again in Brissy in a few weeks.

Go the claws!!!!!!

Filed under:

What a weekend!!!!!!!!. 4 out of 4 is a fantastic result, we went in wanting this result and we got it. Our first game was filled with a lot of anxiety and not knowing what we could really achieve together. When we hit the 3rd quarter of the first game, there was a buzz in [...]

Well, firstly may I say apologies for not writing sooner – though you may recognise the writing (and name) from the News Releases that have been coming out following our matches.

So, as both a player and a captain, what can I not be pleased with right now? Champions of the North Queensland Cup, a well performing team sitting in 4^th place on the ladder (thanks Anna & Mo for pointing that out!) and a team spirit and unity that would rival not only any team in the league, but I would say any sporting team!

Barb got it in one in her media interview with the Gladstone Observer when she said we “brought the enjoyment factor back to the game”. And we did! In Brisbane we were a little frazzled and frantic at times, perhaps at times placing a little too much pressure on ourselves and reducing that enjoyment factor. I can take some responsibility for that as the Captain – but the good thing is…we learned from it, I know I certainly did! We used the experiences of Brisbane to feed back into trainings and build on our knowledge base for Cairns – and we came out stronger and with a fire in our bellies J

And boy did we come out firing! When we took to the court against Marlin Coast Pumas, we had intensity, strength, control & fight! We had the will to win, and we knew that we had the goods to do it. Danni was absolutely smashing in defence! With turnover after turnover, she and Hoppy (Keanna) just continued to provide possession for the attacking end!

And that continued all weekend – again proving that they are a formidable combination. I had the privilege this weekend of sliding into the GD bib for 2 half games outside my normal WD duties, combining with Hoppy both times – and boy did it feel good! She is a star and again, she carved up. Both Hop and Dan have so much to be proud of for the weekend that they played! I have trained with Dan in the circle as well, and that feels so comfortable as well! As a defender, you generally find you click or you don’t with a new player. With Dan, it was instantaneous! Woo Hoo! And with Hop, although we’ve played before, I’d forgotten how good it felt to be running that GD bib at this level!

Wide Bay game was the one we were on the lookout for, and we were prepared for it! Although we were chasing the 4 wins and the Cup, that was definitely the win that I was most concerned about, and most relieved to walk away from with the score line in our favour. I think they underestimated our ability and we pounced on that! We are the team to beat! And I think they are well aware of that now.

Shanita Smith really stepped up this weekend and really proved that she has everything it takes – at only 16! I’m so proud of her! She immediately had an impact each time she took to the court, taking multiple tips and intercepts every quarter she was on. I’m so proud of all the Claws!

Carmz had a stunning game in WA against Wide Bay! She provided so many options in the attacking end, and combined with Tracy to produce numerous turnovers in defence. The unfortunate part to the story is that she was then unable to participate in Sunday’s games, following a minor injury in the Wide Bay game. But not to worry…because she will be back and available for the Brisbane round, better than ever!

With Carmz out of action for Sunday, we asked a lot of Trace and Liz – and they were more than up for the challenge! But of course they had the support of the entire team throughout the court. But what an awesome combination…It was magic…Textbook netball. And it’s so easy to work hard as a WD when you have Trace working so hard in C. I think we shut down almost every centre pass – same goes for Shanita when she was in the WD bib. And Liz in the WA bib was similarly available for every centre pass in attack. She had strong drives and moved so smoothly with Tracy. The combination was effortless.

And in the shooting end – Mo was the strength, the powerhouse! She was amazing in every game, never failing to produce a standout effort. She combined with Poppy and Jacinta, who both performed exceptionally. Jacinta was deceptive, catching her defence unawares on more occasions than not! She moved the ball well with Tracy, Carmen & Lizzy to make some great passages of play. Poppy was strong on the take and really followed through with her shots into the rebounds to produce some great results. The shooting end as a whole was a solid unit and the percentages were there to prove it! WOO HOO!!

I could not be more proud to be a Claw right now and to be a part of such an amazing group of girls. But it wasn’t just the 10 girls that took to the court that had us win in

Cairns. First and foremost, Barb – she kept us together and focused on our goals, game by game! And this weekend, she had Anna as “her voice” in the Assistant Coach capacity! What a lethal combination! I found Anna’s advice, yelled from the sideline so loudly that the other side of the stadium could hear it, so helpful during games! But she does that regardless of whether she is Assistant Coach or playing on the court or on the bench. She’s an outstanding asset to the team! This weekend we had Mel and Amanda on the sideline cheering us on with the feet stomping and doing the stats that helped us analyse the game and draw on both the positives and the areas for improvement! Their support was amazing and it really shows the depth and unity of our squad. Bec & Claudia were unable to make the trip to Cairns, but their constant support via text and phone messages was great! Kat, our physio was with us again to make sure all of our niggles were maintained and that we were match fit. Cazza & Gazza were once again an amazing team, sorting out all of the logistical duties, Cazza with her extraordinarily-superb managerial duties, Gazza in his superstar Audio Visual Technician’s role – and who could forget our additional supporters in the form of our wonderful parents (including my own!). As some of the others have alluded to, our sideline support crew were louder than any other team, including the hosting team! It was amazing to have that level of support up there, especially in Cairns, knowing how difficult it is (and expensive) to travel from CQ to Cairns. So a big thank you to everyone for joining in our campaign! And didn’t it pay you dividends! WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I also wanted to pay a quick, but by no means small, mention to the sponsors on our website. It is the funding from the advertising on the website that is allowing the Claws to participate in such a professional manner. The contributions are assisting in travel funds which allow the team to travel as a whole, including the full squad members not named in the 10 and our support staff including Kat & Garry. Thank you!

So…from here…onto our next challenge! WINS IN BRISBANE TO CEMENT A SPOT IN TOP 6 AND A SPOT IN FINALS!! Brisbane is a few weeks away, so we have a few weeks to regroup, celebrate our success (but not let it go to our heads), and get stuck into trainings to nail every pass and every move that make us the team to beat in the 2010 comp! We will build on our combinations and continue to develop the team unity that sets us aside from any other team in the competition (in my opinion)! We will take each game as it comes and take things one step at a time. We cannot think finals before completing the rounds! We need to consistently deliver, 15 minutes in each quarter, 4 quarters in each game, 4 games in Brisbane…

We are the Claws, and we will bring them out in Brisbane…

WOO HOO!

Filed under:

Well, firstly may I say apologies for not writing sooner – though you may recognise the writing (and name) from the News Releases that have been coming out following our matches. So, as both a player and a captain, what can I not be pleased with right now? Champions of the North Queensland Cup, a [...]