Tara Murray
The Western Warriors can’t wait for the Victorian Netball League championship season to get underway.
The Warriors are one of three new clubs that will take to the court in the VNL this season, with plenty of work having been done behind the scenes.
Warriors coach Kim Bailey said practice is good, but nothing beats getting on the court for the real thing. The season kicks off on March 6.
“It’s snuck up on us,” she said. “We had our practice match and tried some different combinations ang get the girls out on the court.
“We’ve been stuck with a few injuries with the under-23s and some girls came up from the development team along with the younger girls have a chance to step up and see how they go.
“Kiara Boyd was part of the under-15 SSV team last year, Liv Powell was at the City West Falcons and Charlee Duff-Tyler has been in a VNL environment as well.
“They were ready to step up.”
Bailey said the injured players including Brydi Hutchinson, Narena Baker and Leona Hristovska should all be fit for the first game of the season.
On the championship side of things, Bailey said they were working hard to make sure the team was set to go for round one.
The group has a mixture of youth and experience, with a number of players returning to the court.
“We’ve been working on defence a bit more with a couple of players having not played for a while.
“We’re getting them back to the level of required. We face Geelong in round two who have Zanna Woods which will be a really good test for them.”
Another getting used to being back on court is Vanessa Augustini.
Augustini, who grew up in Melbourne’s west, has previously played in the VNL championship division, while was also a training partners for Collingwood’s Suncorp Super Netball team.
Augustini is a late addition to the Warriors side.
“I kept nagging her a lot,” Bailey said. “She’s coming back after having a little baby and some time off netball.
“She strengthens our attacking end and she played with Julia [Woolley] at Geelong. She has fitted in seamlessly.
“She still loves the game and has a passion for a game. It changes our structure and it gives us something different.
“With Simona Di Filippo and Ruby Shannon, it’s quite a mosquito fleet.”
The Warriors start their season on March 6 against Boroondara Express.
Bailey said there would be lot of excitement from the playing group.
“Getting to put on the dress and really excited to put on the uniform.
“There’s really good enthusiasm to see what we can do. You can do all the training in the world, but it’s not until game day you can see what we can do.
“Hopefully it’ll be good.”
