MATCH REACTION | Camilla Buchanan (NSL Rd 1)

Head Coach Camilla Buchanan was left frustrated, as her side kicked off the 2024 season with a breath-taking draw against Cardiff Dragons.

In a nailbiting match, Mavericks weren’t able to convert a half-time lead into a victory and Buchanan admitted that a slow start had played a part in her side not securing the win.

“We entered the game with a bit of hesitancy, which is something we’ve been really trying to work on, and I thought we gave them a bit too much respect in the circle and then not enough respect in the last quarter. They were coming through and collecting some cheap ball, which is something we need to look at.”

In a match where both defences showcased why they are going to be so strong this season, Buchanan accepted that her side’s goal tally was going to be unlikely to be enough to secure a victory. However, she was quick to admit that she had every confidence that her side would grow and learn from the result.

“If you put 48 goals on the board, it’s very rare that you will come away with a win. It was in our capability to win the game, but we didn’t stick to task long enough. We’ve got enough experience to improve from this and we can’t forget that it’s only game one. There is still a long season ahead of us.”

In the end, it came down to the ability to get the ball into the shooting circle, with the Head Coach quick to highlight that the improvements her side will be looking to make are ones that they can work on in training and improve upon quickly.

“We need to get the ball to our shooters more and work the ball in the attacking third better than we were able to do today. This squad are in four days a week and these things are things that we can fix and work on. Everything we need to work on, I know we have within the group, it’s just about being able to pull it all together and the crucial moments.”

A first home outing of the season against Leeds Rhinos awaits next weekend and, whilst admitting that her side will be looking to improve upon their execution, Buchanan was confident that her side have the intensity they need to kick on

“We know that the intensity is there, and we knew that today was going to be a tough game. We had the tools today though to get the win, but we’ll go away and look at the whole game. We know we can be better with our execution and that is going to be the real focus for us this week.”