Tara Murray
It’s a positive vibe around Melton South in the Ballarat Netball League, with the club continuing to grow.
The club’s A-grade side is playing finals for the first time, with coach Anna Edmonds already signing on for next year.
Edmonds said it was pretty exciting for the club as a whole where things were going.
“I’ve been here for three years and we’ve been building towards this and we’ve finally got there,” she said.
“It is an achievement and we’re enjoying it at the same time.”
Edmonds said it was an easy decision to sign on for next season with the Panthers. She said it was nice to see the netball side of things getting some recognition across Melton.
“There’s a growing interest in players wanting to play in 2023,” she said.
“We’re hearing a lot of people want to play in the South with some wanting to get back into netball.
“It’s not just A-grade, it’s right down through to E-grade. It’s really good for netball, as the footy gets a lot of the wrap.
“It’s nice to see the netballers get some recognition.”
The Panthers A-grade side’s season is on the line this Saturday, after losing their opening round final to North Ballarat.
North won that final, 52-45.
Edmonds said while the result was disappointing, there were some good signs.
“It wasn’t the result we were after, but it was still a tough contested game,” he said.
“We took it to them and it was awesome and we enjoyed it. Some of the girls were disappointed afterwards with their own performance.
“North Ballarat played an awesome game.”
The Panthers this week play Darley in a knock out semi final.
Edmonds said they were expecting another tough contest.
“Obviously Darley beat North Ballarat in the final round so they are coming into this with confidence,” he said.
“We have faced Darley twice and quite comfortably. But we can not rely on past results. It will be the best game on the court on the day that will be the winner.
“Hopefully it will be us.”
