Bombers to bank on a better 2019
If there is one thing Noradjuha-quantong netballers are hoping for in the approaching Horsham district netball season it is a better run of luck.
The Bombers, who started pre-season with impressive numbers across the board last week, experienced a lamentable 2018, where three players suffered longterm knee injuries.
Yolly Molineaux, joint A Grade coach again with Georgia Francis, said the injuries meant it was still ‘early days’ in gaining a full understanding of how the club’s blue-ribbon squad might evolve.
“We are getting into our fitness and will commence team selections and game play in March,” she said.
“Because of our traumatic 2018 with the three injuries, there will be a significant change to our A Grade squad this year.
“We’ve managed to source a few new players and our B Grade side won the premiership last year, so we know we have the depth to cover these losses. This also gives some others a great opportunity to step up. Personally, I’m also hoping to come back from having a baby 10 weeks ago.”
Molineaux said the Bombers would approach the season with a simple aim to improve on last year.
“We always aim to do better than we did the season prior,” she said.
Just missing out on finals for our A Grade was devastating, so that will be a big driving force for us.
“For our B Grade, it’s pretty hard to top a premiership, so continued success for them and all of us would be wonderful.
“But we also want to create a fun environment for all our players, maintain variety in trainings to keep it interesting, and hopefully for our A Grade squad, have a little bit more consistency than our 2018 campaign.”
Molineaux said much of Noradjuha-quantong’s netball success was based on junior progression through the ranks.
“Juniors have always been our strength, so we aim to incorporate them into seniors when they are ready to help bridge the gap between junior and senior netball. That is something we are very passionate about,” she said.
Molineaux added that in preparing for the season ahead it was hard to, in early stages at least, identify strengths and weaknesses in the A Grade group based on 2018 results.
“During the entire season we had 18 different players take the court for us,” she said.
“The players that remain from last season have incredible resilience and adaptability.
“With our B Grade being so successful it means there are players from that team that would fit well into A Grade.
“This year we hope to have a good mix of youth and experience.
“It’s great to see someone like Lucy Brand keep returning to our A Grade squad because she was a born and bred Noradjuha-quantong junior.
“Having her play with some experienced players has done her netball the world of good.”