By Tara Murray
Bacchus Marsh had dreamed of what it would be like returning to the winners list in the Ballarat Netball League A-grade competition, but the reality wasn’t something it ever thought of.
Having not won a match since 2019, when they made the second of back-to-back finals campaigns, the Cobras are finally back on the winners list.
It wasn’t with some drama.
The final scores of the Cobras and Redan match in round two were originally registered as 36-36 apiece.
Two days later the league informed the Cobras that there had been an error and they had actually won 37-36.
“After all these years, that’s not the way that we wanted to celebrate winning a game,” coach Nichole Gleeson said.
“The girls had mixed emotions. We thought we had drawn and then we got the message.
“We wanted to win in front of our supporters. It’s been a long time, we wanted to celebrate in front of the club.
“It’s disappointing not to be able to celebrate with them, with them finding out on social media.”
Gleeson said they were ecstatic to have got the win despite the circumstances.
“We got off to a slow start,” she said. “Our key defender was running late.
“We got going and got the momentum going and led the whole way. The entertainment was good.”
Gleeson said the girls joked that they would celebrate the win before training on Thursday. But with a game on Good Friday against East Point, the focus was about getting back on court.
The Cobras didn’t have to wait long for the second win, beating East Point on Good Friday.
She said things had been going really well for the netball program.
“We’re looking good so far,” she said. “We are restricted by the points system so the majority of players are playing out the whole game.
“It is tough having players play full games, we’re asking a lot from them. They are all stepping up and representing the club really well.”
Gleeson said what was exciting was see the excitement from the rest of the club about the netball program and what they are achieving.
“The other players and even the footy players are coming and getting behind them,” she said. “There’s close games for the first time in a long time and the atmosphere of the supporters is helping get us over the line.
