OHS coach Tegan Dray says it's still to early in the season to label her side a potential Orange Netball Association Toyota Cup title contender, but the Hornets certainly took a massive step toward earning that status on Saturday.
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In one of the biggest boilovers in the West Orange Motors Senior Competition's top flight's recent history, the Hornets produced a magnificent four-quarter performance to stun the Orange Physiotherapy Vipers and pick up their second win from the opening three weeks of the season.
The young Hornets ultimately edged out last year's beaten grand finalists by just three goals, winning 31-28 in a low-scoring, defensively-geared encounter, a stark contrast from the 32 and 28-goal defeats they suffered at Vipers' hands last season.
The biggest difference from last season to this season so far has been their mental approach I think.
- OHS coach Tegan Dray, on her surging Hornets
That progression's natural though, Dray says, considering her side is a year older and also added the likes of Milly Wilcox and Annalise Maier to their ranks this season, although it wasn't any individual efforts that inspired the win on Saturday.
"To beat a team like Vipers, a quality, really experienced team, you need everyone pulling together as a unit (and) because they're a schoolgirl team there's always going to be a big difference season-to-season," Dray said.
"The biggest difference from last season to this season so far has been their mental approach I think, and their maturity, that ability to put in a four-quarter performance.
"Results are great and they were very excited to get a win like that but putting in a good game is equally as important, and it was a really good game. (But) we're not looking [too far ahead] just yet, it's still too early in the season.
"We just want to keep improving as a team ... we set our goal to get through the first round of games to see where we're at and then we'll reassess."
The Hornets are in a share for second with Orange City Craig Harvey Mechanical and 2019 debutants Life Studio Sportspower as a result, although they are technically third based on percentages.
Based on the opening three rounds' results they'll certainly enter this weekend's round four clash with the seventh-placed Hawks Royals as a favourites too, before a showdown with Craig Harvey Mechanical side in round five.
Although, as Dray said, with so much player movement in the off-season and teams still finding their feet it is tough to tell what each side is, or isn't, capable of just yet.
Life Studio maintained their competition lead by downing clubmates Life Studio Mid West Eyes 53-30 on Saturday, while in the third round's two other results Craig Harvey Mechanical downed Hawks 64-28 and Life Studio Sportspower took Orange City Epiroc's scalp, winning 68-48.
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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.
