Netball team without a coach celebrates back-to-back victories

North Warrnambool Eagles mentor Mandy van Rooy stood aside after round one of the 2024 Hampden league season due to an increase in work commitments.

Assistant coach Kate O'Meara and club stalwart Ange Jellie have stepped in, steering the Eagles to back-to-back wins against Portland and Port Fairy.

The duo, speaking after the Eagles' 69-47 win over the Seagulls at Bushfield on Saturday, April 20, said the side had handled the late change well.

"We are taking it week-by-week and we'll see how it goes," O'Meara said.

"The girls have responded really well to a all-hands-on-deck approach."

Jellie said van Rooy, who had replaced Maddison Vardy in the role, felt she could not commit to the role.

"She has taken on a full-time work role, restaurant manager," she said.

"Trying to juggle netball with that and two little kids was too much."

O'Meara is the Eagles' on-court leader while Jellie is assisting with making changes off the court.

"You need that person off the court now with the rolling subs especially," Jellie said.

"Kate has a bit of a plan of what's going to happen and we just implement that."

The pair is fans of the rolling subs which allows tactical changes within quarters.

"It changes the game for the better, especially when someone has little niggles or injuries, things that are necessarily not going to make them miss the entire game, and getting rotation of juniors on," O'Meara said.

"You get the continuity of your solid seven (players) but then you run your juniors on as well."

North Warrnambool Eagles had winners across the court against Port Fairy, which showed patches of clever play, with defensive duo Matilda Sewell and Ash Ferguson and goal shooter Chelsea Quinn, whose accuracy was a highlight, playing key roles in the round three clash.

Quinn, who shot 40 goals with her smooth shooting style, is pleased with how she's started her open netball career after returning to the club after stints with Old Collegians and South Warrnambool.

"There's so many familiar faces but also the new faces as well," she said.

"It's such a good one-club mentality here - I love being a part of it."

Quinn, who splits her time between Melbourne and Warrnambool, said she was working well in tandem with goal attack Skye Billings.

"I was a little bit nervous for my first game. It was actually my first open game because I have been between different clubs and not actually made my open debut until this year," she said.

"I am getting a lot more comfortable now I've made a bit of a connection with Skye and our combination is starting to work really well."