Netball
8 April, 2026
WFNL 2026 preview: Exell brings state league experience to Thunder's netball
Lachie Exell will step up to coach A grade at Southern Mallee Thunder this season, assisted by Sydney Thorogood.
And the club is in good hands, with Exell, a netball talent himself, having played in the state men's league in Melbourne previously.
Exell said he had always loved sport, whether it be AFL, basketball, cricket or tennis.
"I grew up playing all of these: any type of sport is something I enjoyed playing, watching and being involved with," he said.
"Coming from country Victoria, you grew up with netball and AFL being part and parcel for the winter sporting calendar at our local clubs.
"As the boys were playing football, the girls were playing netball, so these sports have always gone with each other.
"When I was younger I used to watch netball and it was a sport that really intrigued me, but I never really thought all that much of it given boys at that point in time didn’t get to play it.
"It wasn’t until boarding school and university, when mixed netball was a thing you played socially, that interest grew a lot more."
Exell spent three years playing in the men's league for the state before he snapped his Achilles.
He hasn't played since but said it was something he would have liked to get back into, although injuries in sport as one got older made him a bit hesitant to return.
Exell has coached different sports in his time, including footy with Dimboola for about 10 years.
"This is my first time coaching A grade but I have spent the last couple of seasons at Thunder around the team," he said.
At the end of the 2025 regular season, the Thunder finished fourth.
"We won the first final but got pipped in the first semi-final and lost, finishing fourth overall," Exell said.
"All in all, the season was successful and the first since the Thunder merged that A grade played, and then won, a final.
"I think being a club of four remote/rural towns it’s always difficult to attract and then retain players, but hopefully this year we can build on what Jodie and Steph have done the past couple of seasons.
"You could count on one hand how often the entire A grade squad trained together across preseason and during the season so it was a fantastic achievement to do as well as we did."
The Thunder have welcomed back Kierra Schumann, who is returning from university and may be bolstered by further inclusions.
As for Exell, though, he has a number of clear goals for the side this season.
"We need to train more as an A grade group/team and hopefully have players available to do that," he said.
"Fitness and skill improvements across the club/team, continuing to work hard and enjoy spending time with each other as part of the A grade group.
"And lastly, I am a massive believer that results take care of themselves and we’ll get the outcomes we’re after if we put in the effort in all areas of our games."