EIGHT weeks ago, if you’d said Life Studio would be one win away from a crack at qualifying for the Orange Netball Association Toyota Cup grand final first going into the last round you’d probably have been met with some bewildering looks.
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At that point, Life Studio was playing uncharacteristically inconsistent netball, had four win from seven starts and was just barely hanging onto its place inside the top four.
In short, the side was a shadow of that which had contested the last seven grand finals against Robin Hood.
Fast forward two months and Life Studio are second, one win away from securing a major semi-final spot and the aforementioned crack at first spot in the decider.
The Life players need to win on Saturday though and, somewhat appropriately, they’ll be playing Robin Hood.
Life sits on 32 competition points with Royal Hawks (31) and the Vipers (30) breathing down their neck in third and fourth respectively.
“Hawks play OHS High A and Vipers play Kinross so I think you’d expect those two sides to win, although it’s not certain,” Life Studio player-coach Mardi Aplin said.
“We’d really love to grab a win in that game against Robin Hood and finish in second, but realistically we’ve been very inconsistent all year and we’ll be understrength again so a good performance is first priority."
Life Studio will also face Robin Hood in the major semi-final, should they get there.
The side was drastically understrength in last weekend’s tight win over Robin Hood Craig Harvey Mechanical, and as Aplin said, her side will be light on troops again on Saturday.
Life Studio will be without two of its key figures.
“Brooke Burcher is out and Lucy Brisbane has a tear in her hamstring,” Aplin said.
“We will miss both of them but I have confidence the rest of the girls can lift.”
Aplin said the fact her side has already trumped Robin Hood this season – 50-43 in round seven, Hood’s first loss in over two seasons – gives her plenty of confidence.
More important than anything else, Aplin said, is the fact finishing second would give Life Studio a second chance come finals time.
“The competition’s just so close this season,” she said.
“As well as Robin Hood have been doing, I really think any one of the sides which will finish in the top four could win.”
Life Studio takes on Robin Hood from 3.50pm, following the Hawks-High A clash (1.10pm), and games between Vipers and Kinross (2.30pm) and Robin Hood Craig Harvey Mechanical and Life Studio Mid West Eyes (2.30pm).
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
