By ADEM SARICAOGLU
MELTON Central’s A-Grade netball coach Randy Pereira doesn’t want to read too much into his side’s undefeated run in the Riddell District Netball League.
His Blues are 11-0 and look to be on track for another A-Grade title, but with Sunbury, Riddell and Romsey all not far behind, Pereira is wary of becoming too complacent.
Centrals continued on its merry way on Saturday with a solid 49-33 win over Macedon, but with a tricky run home ahead, Pereira knows the Promised Land is not yet above the horizon.
“We have got a situation where out of our last seven games we have two byes, four teams that are in the bottom five, and Romsey,” Pereira said.
“And with Romsey, we have to play them with three of our players out because of state commitments and a wedding.
“So that will be a bit of a test for us but if we can get through that one it’ll be good.
“It is a bit of a soft run into finals, which is not good, but we can’t do much about that unfortunately.”
With finals not due to commence until late August, Pereira has been keen to plan ahead and ensure Centrals sticks to a tight routine from week to week in preparation for its impending meetings with the RDNL’s other title contenders.
“It’s not an ideal situation going into finals and one of those byes is the last home and away game,” he explained.
“So we’re planning on playing a full scale practice match that week before the finals just to keep ourselves in tune.”
Pereira has run a tight ship since arriving at McPhersons Park in 2009, and has since managed to hold onto five of the original 10 players that followed him from the Ballarat Netball League’s Melton Bloods.
However a few handy additions to the squad, in conjunction with an exodus of top RDNL players over to the BNL has catapulted Melton Centrals to the top in 2013.
Champion shooter Rebecca Morabito has enjoyed a stellar season under the net after sitting out the second half of last season when she fell pregnant.
Morabito, along with the inclusions of Renee Hulls and Bree Dean have been particularly helpful for the Blues to date.
“She’s had a great season,” Pereira said of Morabito.
“She’s had an injury-free season – but having her back has made a huge difference.
“We picked up Renee Hulls last year, and she’s been huge, too.
“We’ve also brought a couple of players up from B-Grade who are young girls that are doing all right.”
Pereira denies there is pressure on his side because of its unblemished record, and said maintaining that form has to remain a “week-to-week proposition”.
