TERANG Mortlake netballer Aimee Moloney feels refreshed after a year on the sidelines.
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She returned to Hampden league competition in the Bloods' season-opener against Camperdown and will again hold down centre when they meet Warrnambool at D.C Farran Oval on Saturday.
The sport took a backseat for Moloney in 2018.
The Bloods captain and her husband Sam welcomed son Billy, now six months, into the world in September.
"I enjoyed last year off and it's nice to come back refreshed after a year off," Moloney said.
"I really took a backseat last year. I'd played for so long so it was nice to step back.
"I watched the odd game here and there and thought they did well considering how young they were and how they lacked a bit of height."
Moloney has had an immediate impact on return, being named captain of the Lisa Arundell-coached side.
She slotted in the midcourt and played four quarters in centre.
"It was a fast-paced game and a hard one to step back into but it was nice," Moloney said.
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The teacher - she is on maternity leave from St Thomas Primary School in Terang - is hoping to guide the Bloods' younger players through in 2019 as they strive to better their 2-16 win-loss ratio of last season.
Terang Mortlake is playing 15 and under netballers May Suhan, Grace Wareham and Maddison Chesshire through its open side, along with 17 and under talent Alice Tanner.
But Moloney believes the Bloods have a better balance of experience and youth this season.
"Jacqui Arundell played some wing attack on the weekend which was nice for her to step out of goals and play more of a feeder role," she said.
"Faye Clark will play in the midcourt but she was unavailable on Saturday and Melissa Burt and Jessica Davis are in goals."
Moloney said Arundell and Burt swapped positions in the final term which highlighted the Bloods' new versatility.
"We have a few more options. But we have to be patient as it's such a new side," she said.
"We'll build each week. Last week in the second and third quarters our match fitness was lacking a little bit and we made errors from being too tired.
"Once we made changes for the last quarter, we got a second wind."
Moloney is bullish about Terang Mortlake's chances against Warrnambool, which suffered a heavy round one defeat to Cobden, in round two.
The Bloods pushed Camperdown to the wire in the opening round, falling four goals short.
"There were so many positives to take out of the game," she said.
"Overall there were great patches and a few lapses cost us at the end.
"We were unknown going into it. The mix of youth and experience is great and Lisa recruited hard in the off-season."
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