Netball
11 April, 2025
Netballers eager for season start
Netball action, like football, gets under way in the Wimmera Football Netball League on Saturday.
Southern Mallee Thunder will host Stawell Warriors at Beulah Memorial Park, Dimboola will make the journey to Minyip Recreation Reserve to face Minyip Murtoa who are hoping to celebrate a win to mark their 30th anniversary, Ararat and Horsham Demons will do battle at Alexandra Oval, and Horsham Saints will be looking to get points on the board by defeating Nhill.
Last season's premiers, the Demons, will face last year's cellar-dwellers in Ararat, but it's hoped the game will be closer than on the couple of occassions when they met in 2024, with Horsham winning by 25 goals and 60-plus respectively.
Ararat coach Sally Noble said her side was both eager and excited to start.
"We're expecting Horsham will be fast from the get-go and competitive until that siren sounds," Noble said.
"The game will be won by who best uses the ball and makes the most of their opportunities."
With a different squad from last year, Noble said she believed Ararat would be more competitive than last season.
New coach of the Demons, Georgie Carberry, said like Ararat, her team was excited and keen heading into round one.
"The vibes are high, we've been training hard so the girls are ready to go," Carberry said, adding she wasn't sure what Ararat would bring to the table.
"Ararat are always competitive and strong and I've heard they've done some recruiting this season so it'll be interesting to see how we match up against them," she said.
"We've been working closely with our defensive unit, with Sienna Manserra stepping up into the A grade this season, and we've just been working on those connections between Sienna, Ebonie (Salter) and Keely (Pope), which is working well so far."
Carberry said their attack line-up wouldn't change, except for the inclusion of Jorja Jones, a player she described as a "handy addition to the side".
"With a few newbies it’s just going to take some time to get used to each other but all we can do is take it week by week and see how we go," she said.
The coach said she was looking for co-captains Georgia Batson and Ebonie Salter to lead the way, describing them as "book-ends".
"Both are incredibly positive and hard-working players who will lead our team well this year," she said.