IS Ally O'Connor one of Victoria's best country netballers? Leesa Battistello thinks so.
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The South Warrnambool captain was at her brilliant best as the Roosters cruised to a 12-goal triumph against Terang Mortlake on Saturday.
Battistello told The Standard O'Connor was "consistently brilliant" and had played a vital role in developing the Roosters' next generation in 2021.
"We joke about our generals in each section of the court," Battistello said.
While I don't think she's underestimated, Ally O'Connor is one of the best country netballers I've ever seen play.
- Leesa Battistello
"We've got Annie (Blackburn) in the attacking end, Carly (Watson) in defence and while I don't think she's underestimated, but Ally O'Connor is one of the best country netballers I've ever seen play.
"Sometimes because she's so exceptionally good, I think people just have that expectation of her that she'll always be that good and she always is.
"She's just brilliant every single week."
Battistello said South Warrnambool was gearing up for a blockbuster clash against ladder leader Cobden in a fortnight. She said the Roosters would keep building on their ability to turn over the ball and punish opposition and were hopeful they could become the first team to beat the high-flying Bombers in 2021.
"We have Carly (Watson) and Meg Kelson who are both turnover machines who can consistently turn the ball over," Battistello said.
"We've had those couple of weeks off because we had that bye and (COVID-19 lockdown).
"I think we're just going to need a bit of a run of consistency. We really want to capitalise on those turnovers and play some composed netball." South will host Portland on Saturday.
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