MVP and All Star snubs will drive the Geelong United Supercats on, says Sarah Elsworthy

“The support this year has been great – this is my third season with Geelong, and I think there is a really good culture building around the women’s program,” Elsworthy said.

“We have kids come up after games and we’re signing autographs, hopefully we can pack out and sell out the arena for our preliminary final.

“From an opposition point of view, when we’ve got our crowd there, Geelong Arena is one of the hardest places to play, so we definitely love it and appreciate the fan support.”

The opposition they will face in the NBL1 South preliminary final will be decided this weekend, with the winner of Saturday night’s semi-final between the Waverley Falcons and the Eltham Wildcats earning their spot against the Supercats.

While Geelong has beaten both Eltham and Waverley this season – their win against the Falcons in an overtime thriller in round 14 being the game that saw the Supercats secure a top four finish – Elsworthy says the team is not taking anything for granted.

“Finals is a different game – we’ve beaten both sides, so that does give us some confidence, but in finals, anyone can beat anyone,” she said.

“Regardless of who it is, both teams are quality sides and we’re going to have to put our best foot forward to win the game.”

Geelong will enjoy a week off this weekend, after defeating the Mt Gambier Pioneers last Friday in a game that Elsworthy described as a “nothing to lose” contest.

“Mt Gambier had all the pressure of it being their home final, finishing above us, and if you read all the NBL1 media, they are talked about a lot because they have a high calibre team,” she said.

“We took that as being a good opportunity for us, we know that we’re good enough, and we can go in with a little bit of that underdog mentality.”

While they may no longer be seen as underdogs after the win against the Pioneers, more fuel has been added to the fire with the snub of several Geelong players across MVP and All Star voting.

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“I think our team has really been forgotten in a lot of those conversations,” she said.

“It does fuel us to be better, but we also take it as a compliment, because we are a good team – it’s not just about one or two people.

“We are using that to motivate us, but also putting it behind us and keeping our belief in the group.”

Originally published as MVP and All Star snubs will drive the Geelong United Supercats on, says Sarah Elsworthy