It was an interesting weekend with our results in the opening round of matches at the Commonwealth Games.
We always knew it was going to be tough against the world number ones Australia, but it was good to get all 12 players out and experience playing in front of such a big crowd.
Sunday was our crunch game against Wales and unfortunately the result didn’t go our way. We had a great fightback in that last quarter – we won it 14-7 – but the damage was done in the previous quarters.
I think there was a little bit of nerves. We knew this was a pressured game and we started OK in the first five minutes, but we had moments where we allowed them to capitalise.
As a team we are reasonably inexperienced and it was a big learning opportunity for us. They always say you learn more from when you lose than when you win and we’ll certainly be taking a good look at that and see where we need to go moving forward.
We’ve got Jamaica today and they are an aerial team. They’ve got the best goal-shooter and best goal-keeper in the world right now.
They’ve got two tall timbers down the shooting end, so it’s going to be about doing the work in the middle and seeing what we can take out of the game.
Jamaica are here and going for gold and on really good form after beating a tough South Africa team earlier this week. It’s going to be a tough game and I can imagine all 12 of us will get a run out again.
It’ll be about sticking to our own game and taking the learning from the Wales game moving forward.
The beauty of our competition is we do get games we can come back in and play hard in. There’s no time to mope about the result. We need to embrace it and move forward.
I’ve been loving the Games experience so far. I’ve really settled into life in the athletes’ village and the venue is so close.
The crowds have been amazing and we can’t complain with the games – we’ve still got four to go and we’re not even half-way through yet.
We’re really lucky that netball is a big sport down in England and we’ve had a lot of home support. When we walk out there’s a huge cheer for Scotland, so we’re embracing everything and we’re grateful for the support we’re getting.
My reason why. I’m going to miss you baby girl but it’s all going to be worth it. Commonwealth Games journey starts today 😁😁😁 pic.twitter.com/wZ6UW7sN74
— Claire Maxwell (Brownie) (@BrownieMaxwell) July 24, 2022
My family are having a great time. I’m really lucky with where they’re staying as I’ve been able to see them during the Games, which is fantastic. They are always proud to see us compete on the world stage.
You’re an athlete and that can be selfish, but you don’t become an athlete without the support of your family.
They are your taxi drivers, they are the ones that pay for club fees, they see your highs and lows. It’s a process for everyone, not just me, and I’m always grateful for everything they do.