The Titans went down in that game by 22 goals, but showed obvious signs of a side struggling with injury to key personnel.
“We were very open and honest with how we each felt about how the game went, and we knew it wasn’t our best,” Coles said.
“We feel so connected at the moment but it didn’t show on court. We went into ‘help mode’ and it all went out the window. We haven’t found ourselves in that position this season, it was a slap in the face.”
Coles, 27, has been a consistent presence in the Titans’ Sapphire side in 2023, having played her way into the premier level after captaining the club’s Ruby Series team the previous season.
“We’re lucky enough that our squads are very talented, which makes training really intense,” Coles said.
“We matchplay against each other, fostering a competitiveness between teams. We’ve got similar structures and are both in the finals, so it’s clearly working. I’ve been at this level before, but it’s nothing like the intensity these days. It’s phenomenal.”
Coles is also heavily invested in the Titans off the court as team manager for last year’s 18-Years State Title winners and assistant coach of the 18-Years team ahead of the 2023 tournament in September.
“There’s a pathway fostered on the Gold Coast,” Coles said.
“The Titans, as a club, put people and family first. It’s an inspiring community. It’s more than netball, there’s a lot of give-back throughout everything we do. It translates on court through our structures in attack and defence. We really build that trust across the group and the strong connections off court help the communication on court.”
While the Titans managed to defeat the Cougars by five and four goals respectively when they met twice during the regular rounds, last weekend’s heavy semi-final loss to the Jets may see the Gold Coasters enter Sunday’s match as underdogs.
“We’ll be playing our game and executing that well to make the grand final,” Coles said.
“They have been tight games against the Cougars, and we’re aware of their fight. They’ve got the depth, attacking prowess and a defensive end that can string together a quality 60 minutes. We know the girls on that court too, Bryah (Gafa) and Jada (Gafa) will go head-to-head.”
After narrowly missing out on a finals berth in 2022, Coles described this year’s HART Sapphire Series campaign as monumental for Gold Coast.
“It’s huge for the coast in general,” she said.
“In finals, anything can happen. It’s time to go for gold.”
The winner of Sunday’s HART Sapphire Series preliminary final at Nissan Arena, starting at 6pm, will go through to the July 30 grand final against the Jets.
The Ruby Series will also feature a preliminary final clash this Sunday between the Titans and Cougars, from 4pm, with the winner to play the Carina Leagues Club Tigers in the grand final.
Admission to the preliminary finals is free, while tickets for the grand finals are now on sale.
For all HART Sapphire Series information, please click HERE.
For all Ruby Sapphire Series information, please click HERE.
(Photo credit: Chloe Davis/Titans Media)
