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!