By Hugh Maclean
@HughMaclean
DEFENDERS
Erin Naismith (Heatherton White – Goal Keeper)
Erin Naismith provides the starch in the Heatherton White defence that compliments the natural attacking ability of the team. A tough competitor who hates to be beaten, Erin will fight to the death for any ball that comes into her area and whoever plays on her knows that they’ve been in a game of netball. She is a perfect foil for a creative goal defence in any defensive combination.
Alicia Wise (Dingley – Goal Defence)
Alicia Wise’s record speaks for itself, and despite missing several matches early in the season due to her travels, the difference in the Dingley side when she returned to it was marked. As a creative defender, she is a player that needs to be watched by any opponent. As an intercepting defender, she is still second to none within the SFNL, and like a fine claret she seems to get better with the passing years.
MID-COURT
Megan Kennedy (Keysborough – Wing Defence)
Keysborough’s elite running wing defence has an innate sense of where to position herself on the court, and possesses the natural creativity to pick the right pass at the right time and create space for her teammates. Megan is the perfect foil for the hard-working players around her and adds potency to the Keysborough mid-court with her defence-splitting ability.
Makayla Bulte (Caulfield – Centre)
Makayla Bulte is the model of consistency and reliability in Caulfield’s mid-court. A tireless worker with an innate ability to see the right pass and make it accurately, Makayla is ideal for her job as the link between Caulfield’s defenders and goalers. Makayla also has shown the ability to be able to shut down a dangerous opponent if need be, and can be relied upon to perform any mid-court role with efficiency and precision.
Zali Mifsud (Heatherton Black – Wing Attack)
In anyone’s assessment Zali Mifsud is one of the elite players within the SFNL. No stray pass is ever a lost cause if Zali is anywhere in the area, and with the speed and endurance to run all day no opponent is ever given a peaceful afternoon. Zali is versatile enough to play in any position in the mid-court, and also has the leadership ability to expertly direct the side.
ATTACKERS
Grace Healey (St Pauls – Goal Attack)
Also a brilliant and accurate goal shooter, Grace Healey has the speed and agility to forage further afield and create opportunities, while being deadly on the shot whenever the opportunity arises. Her shooting ability does not end beneath the ring. She is one of the deadliest shooters in the league from the edge of the goal circle. Add the tenacity and competitiveness to succeed when the game gets tough, and Grace becomes a player with the potency to frighten any defence.
Rahni Samason (Heatherton Black – Goal Shooter)
In a team full of strength, might and danger, Rahni Samason is the viper: the lethal head of the unit that can take the game away from the opponent with the ruthless efficiency of a shooter that can hurt you from any position in the goal circle. One of the best features of Rahni’s greatest assets is the ability to be equally effective regardless of the weather conditions. Her flat shot from distance is unmatched in the SFNL, as is her ability to make chances for herself, and convert them with faultless efficiency.
RESERVES
Phoebe Naughton (Caulfield – Defence)
Phoebe Naughton is the epitome of calm authority in defence. With the defensive smarts to be a handful for the very best shooters in the SFNL, the composed nature not to get flustered when things get difficult, and the ability to pick the right pass having pulled down one of her ample rebounds, Phoebe has slotted into the Caulfield line-up seamlessly, and instantly made the team a better one as a result.
Eliza Barnes (St Pauls – Mid-Court)
Eliza Barnes’s enormous work rate, aligned with her netball sense and intelligent running patterns, means that she is the ideal utility player that can slot into any position in the mid-court where needed. Equally adept at creating an attacking threat as nullifying one, Eliza possesses the experience to know where to be at any given time, and could also relieve at goal attack or goal defence if required.
Sophie O’Shea (Caulfield – Goal Shooter)
Sophie O’Shea is a commanding presence in the Caulfield goal circle. With the knowledge and experience to use her height to its fullest extent, and the positioning sense to see the play unfolding earlier than most, Sophie finds the ball in dangerous positions frequently and shoots unerringly when the ball arrives. Cool, calm and unflappable, Sophie’s directional value to her young Caulfield side is immense, and she would be invaluable as one of the leaders in this squad.
COACH
Sue Kimber (Caulfield)
In her first season as coach of Caulfield, Sue Kimber has brought extensive netball knowledge, and a natural ability to teach, to a side with an abundance of talent and natural ability. The result is that, not only has Caulfield’s Division 1 team taken massive steps towards becoming a genuine premiership threat, but their second side has also benefitted enormously from her tutelage. A Preliminary Final and Grand Final berth for her two teams is testament to the job that she has done.
