ONE of the most dramatic netball grand finals in Warrnambool and District league history hasn’t rated a mention during Old Collegians’ pre-season.
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Lisa Arundell’s side fell agonisingly short in its bid to become premier and champion after losing to an inspired Panmure 41-40 at Reid Oval last September.
Six members of that side will chase redemption in 2015, while Jodie Maybery has retired and Madeleine McLeod is at university in Melbourne.
The recruits include Koroit stalwart Kylie Grayland and former Warrnambool coach Chloe Arnott, while Sarah Quinn steps up from A reserve.
As the countdown to the new season begins, Arundell said making amends for the heartbreaking end to 2014 hadn’t been a source of motivation during summer.
So much so, “until you said it to me, I hadn’t realised we haven’t had a conversation about it as a team”.
“To be honest with you, it hasn’t been a focal point. It hasn’t been a talking point at all which is a little bit surprising given the circumstances,” she said.
“We’ve more or less been concentrating on creating this newish team heading into this season. We haven’t really touched on it at all.
“That’s not to say we won’t necessarily draw upon the feelings that came out of that game and use them to our advantage if we have to.
“But at this stage it hasn’t really been on our radar at all. I don’t think there’s any advantage starting a new season and bringing baggage from last season.
“Especially when you’ve got three new girls. We don’t want to be dragging them down. We want to start with a fresh approach and take every game as it comes.”
Arundell, entering her fifth season as coach, said she was looking forward to working with a new back court, following the departure of Maybery.
“We’re yet to define how we’ll play down there,” she said.
“Hopefully it won’t change too much but it’ll certainly be a different make-up. Having different defenders opens new doors for different court plays we can explore.
“Previously, we did what worked best for the players we had. It’s great to be working with new people and different scenarios.”
Old Collegians meets Merrivale in round one, a Good Friday blockbuster on April 3. The grand final rematch is in round seven, on May 16.
