Corrimal RSL Cadets coach Linda Yeo continued to give her finals-bound side high praise despite back-to-back losses in the Illawarra top grade.
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Cadets went down 33-27 to SMJ last Saturday, a week after they fell 32-29 to another finals-bound opponent in Brindles.
Despite the losses, Yeo was ecstatic with the level of play she'd seen from her troops.
"We had the most amazing game.
"They played beautiful but we went down by six," she said after the SMJ defeat.
"It was just unlucky because SMJ played beautiful, too. It was pretty tight right until the last quarter but I can't fault the girls."
She was particularly pleased with the Cadets' defensive third after their second nail-biting loss.
"Our whole defensive end pretty much shutdown their attacking end. They had to work twice as hard to get the ball inside the circle," Yeo said.
"We had to bring one of our defender's out into the mid-court, Nicole Hogan, and she played outstandingly."
The Cadets plan on utilising that same defence to get them through a vital clash with Wests Titans this weekend.
Wests are Corrimal's main threat for the final top-four spot after they beat Dapto Storm 47-35 last weekend.
Yeo said she'd employ a fullcourt defence to combat the Titans.
"They have got very short, sharp shooters, so we are going to have to close that attack end down," Yeo said.
"Because they are short they do a lot of running around, so we have to get in front of them so they can't move.
"Basically we will need a fullcourt press."
Cadets will train with members of their intermediate squad for the final rounds of the regular season.
"It will give them a taste of what it is like to play in Premier League for the next couple of weeks," Yeo said.
"Their youthful experience will contribute to a pretty tight training session."
In other games last week, Vipers smashed Woonona WBRSL 82-42 and Brindles were too good for Woonona McDonald's 53-28.