SATURDAY’S Koroit-Camperdown Hampden grand final was filled with thrills and spills — and that was just the umpires. Newly-graded AA class umpire Qalo Sukabula had to exchange whistles midway through the match after he bit his bottom lip. “The whistle was just covered in blood,” Sukabula said. A sneaky switch while the ball was at the other end allowed the man in white to continue his patrol of the sideline with a fresh whistle. Far-side umpire Sara Byrne had to stop play in the final term after she tripped on a spectator’s foot. Sukabula said Byrne twinged her hamstring but was able to officiate the rest of the match. “It was a great game, I was quite enthralled,” Sukabula said. “There were great match-ups across the court.” He said Koroit’s best-on-court recipient Stacey O’Sullivan was awarded for her drive down the court and ability to keep Magpies goal attack Leah Sinnott to just two goals.
HAMPDEN league’s young stars should probably thank little Lexie Dwyer. Up-and-coming players like Rachel Dobson, Sarah Moroney and Carly Pulling may not have known it but Melbourne Vixens coach Julie Hoornweg watched last Saturday’s grand finals at Reid Oval. The top coach is a close friend of Seagulls 15 and under coach Bev Bourke. Hoornweg decided to visit the south-west to see Bourke’s granddaughter, Lexie, who is the daughter of Nicole Dwyer. Dwyer said the Vixens coach’s visit proved to be good exposure for some of Hampden’s young guns. “She was coming down to see Lexie for the first time and it just happened that mum’s 15s team was in the grand final,” she said. “She was able to watch the grand finals and have a look at some of the young ones who played, like Sarah Moroney, Carly Pulling and Rachel Dobson.” While Port’s Moroney was in the 15 and under final, the latter duo were part of the Saints’ senior premiership side.
STILL on Port Fairy and the Seagulls are flying towards a promising season. Dwyer revealed that the club has already started its 2011 recruiting campaign, which stretches across western Victoria. “We’ve been meeting up with players — some from Hampden, some from Western Border and some from Mininera,” she said. “We hope to have everything sorted within the next month. Normally we’re the last ones to do it so we thought we’d do something different.” Any clubs who haven’t already called the young Moroney sisters to try and poach them, don’t bother. Their father declared their loyalty to Port at the Maskell Medal presentation when accepting Sarah’s rising star award but the message obviously didn’t sink in. The family has been taking calls from interested clubs, who are simply wasting their time.
NEXT time you’re after a netball tip, perhaps ask Warrnambool coach Lorraine English. The Standard asked all of this year’s senior coaches who would win last weekend’s grand final between Camperdown and Koroit. While the majority said the Saints, English was the only one to correctly predict the margin, which was four goals.
CHEAPER coaching courses, improved facilities and more visits by the Melbourne Vixens. Those were the suggestions which Netball Victoria received after a mass call-out to its associations last week, where it asked what the highlights and lowlights of 2010 were. Most of the responses also saw associations ask for help in recruiting volunteers and staging clinics.
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