Netball
17 April, 2026
Warrack ready to challenge Stawell
It was a challenging first hit out for the Eagles in A Grade netball last Saturday, as they were defeated by last season's premiers, the Horsham Saints.
The Horsham side, as expected, was strong from the first whistle, holding a convincing lead at the end of each quarter, with final scores 72 to 34.
Isabella Orszulak and Maddie Okely began the season off well for Warrack, earning best on court honours in the first game of the fixture.
This week, Warrack will host Stawell at Anzac Park, with the Warriors coming off a loss against Ararat in their Good Friday hit out.
Eagles coach Sarah Spicer said her side was looking forward to their clash against the Warriors.
"They've always been a challenging competitor of ours, and we have always had a rivalry with them from when we were both teams at the top," admitted Spicer.
"They are never an easy team to win against, and it is always hard to expect in the first rounds, you just need to go in with no expectations; attempt to work it out as you go, the first time you play them and the next time you've got more expectations.
"But they do have lots of experience with their coaches, in Courtney and Jemma."
Spicer said the advantage will be held by the best playing goalers.
"Then it becomes a defensive game, whoever can close down the goalers," Spicer said.
Despite coming off a defeat last week, Spicer was feeling confident about this game.
"This week is going to be different from last week," she said.
"It's always a challenge playing Saints in the opening round because they are an extremely well-trained outfit and Jorja Clode is extremely hard to close down.
"I don't feel like we can take much out of what the Saints did there, but there are a few areas we need to improve on, which we will work on at training this week."