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LEOPOLD will play Newtown & Chilwell for a spot in the Grand Final after defeating South Barwon 50-41 at West Oval on Saturday.
After being defeated by South Barwon in Round 6, Leopold coach Leah Wilson was happy her girls pulled together for a team effort that even the most seasoned of finals veterans couldn't match.
"We played them really early in the season and I think I probably had different combinations, trying things out and again we will try to match up on them as best we see fit.
"We'll put a few strategies out there like we did today and hopefully it works for us."
South Barwon coach Sascha Veldhuis was thankful her side had worked hard all season to secure a second chance and believed her girls would take a positive from the loss.
"As flat as we looked today, I probably think the best thing that could have happened to us in retrospect was a loss because the girls will come out fired up," she said.
"They hate being beaten and I am sure that will help egg them on for next week's game.
"We were totally outplayed by Leopold. They came out and they were disciplined and sharp right from the start of the game."
At quarter-time South Barwon switched its favoured combination of two tall goalers in the circle, better matching the height of Leopold defenders Nikki Cooke and Emily Mannix. Youngster Ruby Horton stood tall and shot accurately against an experienced Mannix.
"I am always of the opinion that if you get down by a certain number you've got to try and make changes as quick as you see that you can. Because, if you get too far down then you're really reactive and you don't give yourself a good chance to get back in it," Veldhuis said.
"We felt that we weren't playing well as a team down the attack end, so we thought that we would try and make some changes to address our own game - not so much what they were doing."
Veldhuis said a focus of training would be the defensive structure and creating a clear pathway down the court to capitalise on opportunities.
"We tried to play too aerial and too long through the court.
"And we were really undisciplined in a lot of ways," she said.
