The Riddell District Netball League is fielding a very different-looking rep side in the Central Highlands Regional VNL competition this season.
Several players are representing the Riddell league for the first time as it looks to develop more players at a higher level.
Coached by Rupertswood’s Di McCormack for a second straight year, the squad has five new players, Rupertswood duo Alex Maher and Jorgia Leonard, Diggers Rest pair Georgia Vicendese and Jayde Peters, and Lancefield’s Tamara Elshaar.
They join the experienced Christine Harris, from Riddell, and Rupertswood’s Amy Starzer, Ailish McCormack, Emily Ktona and Jess Dominko.
McCormack said that despite the new faces, she believed her team would still be competitive in the competition, which kicked off on Friday night.
The RDNL has finished runner-up in the competition the past two years, losing to the Ballarat Netball League both times.
“We’re giving others a chance to play and it’s a bit of a development year,” McCormack said.
“We’re not as strong as last year but I think we’ll be competitive. It’s a very young side, but some of the girls have played together, which will help.”
McCormack was thrilled to see some of the development of the likes of Vicendese in the past few weeks.
The team has played two practice matches against the men’s under-23 state development team, which McCormack also coaches.
“Georgia has taken a lot on board and we’re seeing different things from her,” McCormack said.
“She really wanted a spot in the team. We’ve changed a few little things with her stance and she has made huge inroads.”
One disappointment is that Elshaar will miss the competition after surgery.
“She’s a real loss for us,” McCormack said. “We’ll use the girls we have in the squad instead of bringing in a replacement. If we need to bring someone in, we’ll likely pick them from the under-19 squad.”
Meanwhile, the under-15 and under-19 Highlands regional VNL competitions won’t go ahead because of lack of interest.
AFL Goldfields netball manager Kim Bailey said the three Goldfields region leagues had entered teams but there was little support from the Ballarat area.
“We had to tell the teams they weren’t going ahead because of a lack of support from the Ballarat associations,” she said. “There weren’t enough teams to make it viable.”
