A STAR-studded Central Rivers squad will be aiming to put on a “good show” according to coach Georgia Styles when senior interleague netball returns to the Alan Garden Reserve courts this Saturday afternoon.
It will be the first time since 2019 that senior Central Murray and Golden Rivers FNL netballers have had the opportunity to represent their league following last year’s aborted start.
The Central Rivers team will take on the Hoppers Crossing Netball Association after the Sunraysia Football Netball League were unable to put a senior team together this year.
While very little may be known about their opponents, the Central Rivers squad will be certain to give a strong account of themselves based solely on the level of talent to have made themselves available.
The squad includes three current Central Murray club coaches, four 2024 club best and fairests, and six of the top 20 finishers in last years Julie Wardle Medal, including Emma Peacock and Chloe Adams, who finished second and third respectively.
With some of the Central Murray and Golden Rivers’ best talent to choose from, Styles is hopeful of a strong showing on what is certain to be an emotionally charged moment for the long-time supporters of the interleague concept.
“I was quite happy when Jessie (Chester) and I put the invites out to the girls that we wanted and most of them put their hand up and said they wanted to be a part of the team,” Styles told The Guardian this week.
“Hopefully we can put on a good show against Hoppers Crossing now since Sunraysia have pulled out.
“Hopefully we can match it with them because they’re a league that has some really good players playing in it and they’re a league based close to Melbourne, but the one thing I know is that we are going to give it a red-hot go.
“I want to see us play physical but clean netball and not be afraid to make a mistake, just get out there and have a go and play how they normally play.
“All the girls are fairly physical and hard at the ball type of players anyway, so I don’t think they’re going to change the way they play just because they’re in a different team.
“It will be all about see ball, get ball and just get out there, have a bit of fun, and give it your best.”
One of the key features of the Central Rivers squad is its versatility, with many of the chosen players having shown an ability to play multiple roles at club level already this season.
Although Tayla Bennett is locked in as goal shooter and Neveah Roberts and Chloe Adams set to play in the Two-Blues defensive third, the rest of the squad can play several different roles, including Cohuna’s Tanner Edwards, Tooleybuc-Manangatang young gun Jayda Plant and Wandella’s Eliza Perryman, who have all played in the midcourt and goal attack this year.
NNW United’s Taylen Blachford is someone who can play under either the attacking or defensive post, while former Lake Boga premiership players Taigan O’Shannassy and Lily Brennan can both play any position through the midcourt.
The highlight for Styles however will be just being apart of such a talent-laden squad, with the impact of the return of senior interleague netball hopefully having an impact for years to come.
“It’s really exciting and it’s good for the younger ones who are going to be playing on Saturday in the junior grades to see the older girls play and see what it’s like, and what interleague used to be like,” Styles said.
“They grow up playing interleague in the under 15s and under 17s and then it’s like, well, what do we do now?
“So to see these older girls and players that they all look up to are going to be playing will hopefully have a big impact on the future interleague netballers as well.
“Hopefully we can get it up and running next year and keep it going so as to give the younger girls something to aspire to when they’re in their senior years.
“Interleague hasn’t happened for a while for the senior side, so it’s good to have it back.
“There was a few girls last year that were keen, but then we didn’t quite have enough to get a side to go up to Mildura, so for the girls to put their hand back up this year and for them to have really bought in has been great.”
Saturday will be a first for many of the players, with most of the squad having never represented the Central Rivers in senior interleague netball before.
It will also be a first for Styles however, with the veteran coach coaching the senior interleague squad for the first time.
“When Jessie asked me, I was like surely there’s someone else that could do it and is a bit more qualified than me,” Styles said.
“I loved playing interleague when I was younger, so I kind of want to instil that into the girls that are playing now.
“To be picked to represent your league is a big deal and it’s something to be excited about.
“It kind of dropped away for a few years and I think it was a bit like the footy in that the players didn’t want to play and they don’t want to get injured.
“But it’s the best standard of netball you can play when you play interleague as you play with the best players from all the teams across your league and the other girls that you don’t normally play with.
“The girls are all really excited to get out there and play and they just want to give it a crack and show everyone what they have.”
