Girls take on the best

FROM a single concrete court to the top tier of school netball, Townsville’s St Margaret Mary’s College is used to overcoming adversity.

In true David and Goliath style, SMMC’S run through the Queensland Independent Secondary Schools Netball Carnival (QISSN) has defied the odds against netball scholarship-led schools with facilities to match.

Undeterred, the young SMMC side finished top of their pool with only one narrow loss, securing a Division 1 top-four finish to progress to a semi-final.

Meeting Sunshine Coast powerhouse Matthew Flinders College, SMMC went down 25-12, but with a bronze medal playoff to come, coach Leanne Arnold said she was blown away by what her side had been able to achieve.

“They (Matthew Flinders) had a couple of state (representative) defenders which is hard to cover, and they were just stronger than us across the court,” she said.

“We lost five Year 12s from last year’s team which came runners-up, but considering we’ve got such a young team, it’s a fantastic result and better than I could have hoped for. I was hoping for a top eight (finish), so I couldn’t have asked for more of the girls.”

In a further coup, SMMC’S Ally Andreassen was awarded MVP of the side’s 22-15 quarter-final win over Siena College, before SMMC’S cocaptain Remy Arnold was awarded semi-final MVP by Matthew Flinders coach and former Diamond and Queensland Firebird Lauren Nourse.

“All the girls have had a really good run and most of our key players are quite young,” Arnold said. “It is amazing we compete at such a high level against the best in Queensland considering our facilities and lack of elite competition in our region.

“We went through the Vicki Wilson Cup (Townsville tournament) winning by an average of 60, so it’s hard to get the girls prepared to play at QISSN against State players as it’s big step up.”

Meeting Rockhampton’s Cathedral College in the playoff for bronze today, Arnold was optimistic her side’s heart and determination could carry it through.

“We’ll be in with chance,” she said. a

Picture: SUPPLIED STEPPING UP: SMMC’S division one, QISSN finalists (from left) Ally Andreassen, Alana Glasby, Emma Angus, Breanna Fusco, Grace Bowman (co-captain), Remy Arnold (co-captain), Bella Sawyer, Emily Prescott, Sarah Carr, Thalia Clarke.