Three in a row?
Entering the 2019 Horsham District netball finals, Natimuk United has a chance to do what no team other than Kalkee has done since the 1980s – win three straight premierships.
The A Grade premiership might as well have been renamed for Kalkee as between 1986 and 2010 the Kees won a staggering 20 titles, but in the past decade that order has been upended.
Noradjuha-quantong, Harrow-balmoral and, more recently, Natimuk United and Laharum have emerged as consistent premiership threats. The Bombers won back-to-back pennants in 2011 and 2012 and the Roos repeated the feat in 2013-14.
Natimuk United has claimed the past two titles but could truly etch its name in District League lore with a third. It is in a great position to do so after going through the homeand-away season undefeated.
The Ewes are loaded with talent, starting with a rock-solid defence anchored by Jo Taylor and Casey Vanstan.
The team’s midcourt is also full of experience, with coach Cheryl Sudholz, her sister Michelle Trigg and Danielle Fleay all capable of playing multiple positions.
Shannon Couch remains one of the preeminent goal shooters in the competition, with Candice Muszkieta and Alysha Liston rotating through goal attack. Ebony Rintoule has also been given regular senior exposure this season and has added depth.
Sudholz said her side was excited to pursue a
third straight premiership – and fourth in five years – but claimed the Ewes would not get ahead of themselves.
“There’s a long way to go before we get there,” she said.
“The past couple of years when we’ve won the premiership, we’ve just taken it one game at a time. Every year is totally different.
“It has been the case previously that when we’ve gotten to the grand final we’ve said, ‘wow, I can’t believe we’re here,’ because we finished fifth or sixth.”
Despite several of the team’s key players now being nearer the end of their careers than the start, Sudholz said the Ewes were showing no signs of slowing down. In an ominous sign for the rest of the competition, she said her players were raring to go ahead of yet another finals campaign.
“We do have a couple of players with a few little niggles at the moment including my sister, but we’ve been fortunate enough to be able to rest them before finals,” she said.
“Me personally, I think we like to play. Some teams like the weeks off, but I prefer that we keep playing and at the end of the season you can go off and have a break and your body can relax.
“We’re always doing some kind of fitness or playing tennis or exercising anyway. I prefer the consistency over the rest – I hate byes.”