EMMANUEL College junior netball team contested the Catholic All Schools finals in Werribee last week. The side made it to the semi-final but lost by six goals to St Columba’s of Essendon. The young group was the school’s only team to progress beyond the western zone tournament in Ballarat earlier this year. The team included Olivia Niddrie (C/WA/WD), Bridget Smith (GD/GK), Grace Paulin (WD/GD/GK), Chantelle Moloney (WD/GK), Nell Mitchell (GA/GS), Aylish Fruscher (GA/GS/WA), Kate O’Meara (GS/GA/GD), Danielle McKinnon (GS/GK), Tayla Ryan (C/WD) and Darcy Wilson (GD/GK/GA) and was coached by Emily-Rose Finnigan. Six of the young netballers also play for South Warrnambool.
RESILIENT Magpie Emily Stephens is determined to help her teammates at all costs. The Camperdown wing defence fell heavily in the third quarter against Cobden. Playing coach Leah Sinnott said the sound of Stephens’ head hitting the pavement was sickening. “She cracked her head... it was really loud,” she said. A medical time-out was immediately called. “She laid there for a good couple of minutes,” Sinnott said. “She wasn’t unconscious but she kept her eyes closed and stayed still.” The courageous defender played on for the rest of the match. The Magpies eventually won by 34 goals. “She kept playing with a big egg on her head,” Sinnott said. “She wouldn’t be coming off.”
STILL on Camperdown, Leah Sinnott might be creating an unusual position of her own on the court. While the playing coach has been affixing the goal attack bib for much of the season, goal shooter Narelle Welsh has been doing most of the work under the net. On Saturday, Welsh shot 73 of the Magpies’ 77 goals. “I didn’t have to do anything,” Sinnott said after the match. The agile attacker is still a regular feature in her team’s best players due to her tireless work in the midcourt and precision lob passes into Welsh. Perhaps the big GA on her dress should stand for goal assist.
WARRNAMBOOL City Netball Association’s A grade final has been postponed to next Wednesday night. The decider between ladder-leader Mixtures and Sonic was planned for this week but a mass of unavailable players forced the association to reschedule. Mixtures, which is mostly made up of Brauer College year 12 pupils, initiated the move. The game will start at 7.30pm.
THE under 11 Warrnambool City Netball Association competition has boomed from eight teams last season to 15. Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon junior competitions started three weeks ago. Association president Amelia Smith said numbers had increased in all divisions.
WARRNAMBOOL and District league netball starting times are to remain the same for the finals series. On grand final day, games will be played on the hour. Supporters can breathe a sigh of relief as there will be only one match at a time. The WDFNL team of the year is set to be announced next week.
RUSSELLS Creek A graders will play their final match tomorrow but there will be no slacking off in the fitness department. The senior group has gathered every Tuesday and Thursday morning for 6am workouts this season. This week the Kangaroos had a spin class, long-distance run and cardio class. Playing-coach Alisha Castle said the sessions would continue until there were no Creek teams left in finals. The Kangaroos’ B graders are sitting fourth, while the A reserves are two points out of the five.
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