Mallee Eagles v Lake Boga
AFTER disappointing finishes to last season, both the Mallee Eagles and Lake Boga will be looking for immediate redemption when they meet in round 1 at Lalbert tomorrow afternoon.
Both teams were knocked out of last year’s finals by eventual premiers Balranald, with the Magpies losing in extra time of the semi-final, while the Eagles fell seven goals short of a grand final appearance.
They enter the new year with fresh looks and new coaches at the helm.
Meg Allen will take the reins of the Eagles, while former Woorinen and Swan Hill premiership coach Anne-Marie Stewart will lead Lake Boga.
For Allen and her team, the new season can’t come quick enough, the new coach happy with her side’s pre-season and the way her playing group embraced some changes to the way they want to play.
“It’s definitely exciting, I think you get to a certain point during pre-season training where you just want to get the season started and after our first couple of practice matches, we’re all very keen to just get into the swing of it,” Allen told The Guardian.
“We’ve had a really good pre-season across all grades and we’ve had some really good buy-in from all the players too.
“We’re going to run with an A squad this year, which will mean picking teams on merit every week until we get to a certain point – it’s been really well received and I think it will become one of our strengths this season in adding to our depth.
“We’ve got a number of players that can all play A Grade and can play a variety of positions across the court – I think it’s really exciting that we’ve got so many different combinations that we can put on the court and I’m expecting us to be able to use our versatility to our advantage.”
Like Allen, Stewart is also confident the improvement her team has shown across the pre-season will not only have them well placed ahead of tomorrow’s encounter, but also ready to attack the competition and finally break their premiership drought.
“We’re really looking forward to Saturday, as (Mallee Eagles) have been a very competitive club over the last few seasons and I’m sure it will be an early test of where both sides are at,” Stewart said.
“The girls have been training really well and have been keen to learn new skills and have had a great work ethic, which is very pleasing to see from my perspective as coach.
“We’ve been working hard on our defensive and attacking skills across the pre-season and hopefully that will pay dividends for us – if we can come away with a win tomorrow, that will give us plenty of confidence going forward for the rest of the season.”
A number of changes in playing personnel were also set to play a part.
Lake Boga will be without last year’s coach Anna Archie from their midcourt, as well as defender Felicity Robertson, while the Eagles have lost Tayla Foster, Claire Allen and Emelia Shannahan from their line-up.
The Magpies appear well placed to cover their losses however, with the return of Holly Hogan to play in the centre and former Tyntynder defender Maddy Gleeson set to cover the loss of Robertson.
For the Eagles, Megan Thorneycroft will return and partner Kellie Walker in goals, with Allen to lead their defence and dynamic duo Sonya Lorenzoni and Alicia Harvey taking control of the midcourt.
Drawing on plenty of depth among the Eagles lower grades, the remaining places will be filled from within.
With the Hepburn sisters once again suiting up for Lake Boga, their attacking end will go a long way tomorrow. But while Allen was confident her side would be equal to the task of quelling the pair, there will also be a significant focus to negate their influence.
“They’re such a strong duo, (Sarah and Katie Hepburn) are really good players and have the height to trouble us as well,” Allen said.
“We’ll have to work really hard to stop their entries into the ring, because once they get the ball in there, they both shoot really well – then with their height, they’re also really good at getting those long bombs into their attacking third as well.
“That’s where we’ll have to work really hard to try and break their ball movement down and stop their movement before they get into an attacking position.
“We’ll be focusing on playing a bit unpredictably with our own ball movement as well – it can be pretty easy for us to get caught into the trap of looking for Kellie (Walker) because she is such a good player, but we want to have other options and use them and make it harder to shut down our attacking third of the court as well.”
Tyntynder v Balranald
BALRANALD will start their premiership defence back at the scene of their greatest triumph, when they travel to the Alan Garden Reserve and take on Tyntynder.
With Jess Parry once again taking charge, the Roos will once again be one of the teams to beat in 2023. Hannah Morton will return to her home club and should slot seamlessly into the GD bib that has been vacated by Stevie Bibby, who has left to coach Golden Rivers club Moulamein.
While Balranald will have a familiar look, the same can’t be said for the Bulldogs, who have turned to former premiership coach Teagan Lawry to lead them from the lower half of the ladder.
Also returning is gun goalie Kelsey Rowe, who will fill the vacancy left by Tess Denham as she recovers from a knee injury, while Nicola Miliano (defence) and Toni Rivett (midcourt) will also return, along with Sarah Hawley, who is expected to partner Rowe in goals.
With a settled line-up and riding the wave of emotion that comes with being reigning premiers, expect Balranald to get the job done against a still developing Tyntynder.
Tooleybuc-Manangatang v Kerang
AFTER playing for the majority of last season without a team in A Grade, Kerang will return as a permanent fixture this weekend against Tooleybuc-Manangatang.
The Blues won’t be just hoping to make up the numbers this season and are set to make a statement against the Saints under new coach Chloe Adams.
Adams has seemingly brought an air of competitiveness and hunger to the Blues this season – along with new faces Olivia Jones (Woorinen), Zoe Livingston (Swan Hill), Keiarah Brooks (South Bendigo) and Emmerson Simpson (Macorna).
With a number of quality additions, along with Courtney Wright, Kaitlyn Wright and Tahni Clark, the Blues will pose a significant challenge for a Tooleybuc-Manangatang outfit very much in a rebuilding phase.
The Saints will also have a very different look – albeit for very different reasons, with a number of key players moving clubs over the pre-season. Goalies Zoe Morris (Swan Hill) and Carlee Hazlett (Woorinen) have both departed and will leave a significant hole in attack, while defender Taylen Blachford (NNW United) will have a similar effect on Tooleybuc-Manangatang’s defence.
The one saving grace for the home side will be the return of Laura Zanker from injury – but despite her inclusion, it appears Kerang are set to start their season with a win.
NNW United v Koondrook-Barham
AT Nyah, the Demons will play host to last year’s wooden spooners Koondrook-Barham.
After going winless last season, the Raiders will be putting their faith in experienced coach Grant Matthews to lead them off the bottom of the ladder, along with Sid Dyer, who returns after a stint at Quambatook.
While Koondrook-Barham will be heading down the rebuilding path in 2023, NNW United are going full steam ahead at breaking their finals drought.
The Demons lose Laura Anderson as a player (she will remain as coach) and Zoe Gray, but they appear to have improved their playing list from with the recruitment of Taylen Blachford from Tooleybuc-Manangatang and the returns of Aleesha Flanagan and Madison Jones – and should have no problems accounting for the young Raiders.
