FOOTBALL

THE Hamilton Kangaroos will be looking to continue their good form at home when they host Cobden at Melville Oval this afternoon.

It is an eight-point game with both the Bombers and Kangaroos locked on eight points after six rounds of HFNL action, with the loser set to drop even further behind the top five teams.

Hamilton has a 2-1 record at home, with the only loss coming from its round three clash against Portland.

Cobden is coming off a 53-point loss to Warrnambool last weekend, while the Roos fell 67 points short of South Warrnambool, as both teams look to bounce back onto the winners list.

The Kangaroos have shown their best is good enough, but slow starts have put the team on the back foot with coach, Hamish Waldron, needing to re-focus the team at half time a few times after a lacklustre second term.

A fast start is critical and with showers forecast, it will be a contested battle amid wintry conditions, and the team who can adapt the best will finish winners and move to 3-4 and move one step closer to evening up the win-loss ledger.

NETBALL

THE Hamilton Kangaroos will face yet another tough test when Cobden travels to Melville Oval this afternoon.

The two teams are on different trajectories six weeks into the Hampden Football Netball League (HFNL) Open netball season, with the Bombers one of the premiership fancies.

Hamilton will be buoyed by a strong performance against South Warrnambool, going down by nine goals against the only unbeaten team in the league.

Kangaroos coach, Nat O’Dea, will be licking her lips at the prospect of having all 10 players available for only the second time this season, and expects a tough challenge against the third-placed Bombers.

“It is not ideal to play the top two sides in two weeks, but it is what it is,” she said.

“The girls are up for every challenge, forming the combinations and we have a bit more flexibility now.”

Coming off a competitive performance against the ladder leaders, O’Dea will likely move the magnets around a bit more often today.

O’Dea said having fresh legs would be important against a seasoned outfit like Cobden.

“I think one of the main things I learnt was perhaps I could have made a few more moves, the girls did tire and they are not used to playing full games at that intensity and pressure,” she said.

“The intensity was up and I think we learnt we can match them, we played a really good 45 minutes and there was probably a couple of five-minute periods in the third and fourth quarters.”

The Kangaroos will also be hoping for a big crowd at Melville Oval, giving the team a boost from the sidelines.

“There was a big crowd at South, and I think the girls got a lot of confidence out of that and people are coming back to watch the netball,” she said.

“Obviously it is our home game and I hope there is a bit of a crowd there to spur the girls on.

“Confidence is very high and confidence is a huge thing in netball.”

After missing out on court time last week against the Roosters, Ella Sevior and Leesa Iredell will be pivotal and will offer plenty coming off the bench in what shapes up to be a big contest.