Mcdonald steps up
Edenhope netball star Sacha Mcdonald has continued her strong run of recent success after being named captain of the Victorian Fury under-19 side for next month’s National Netball Championships.
Mcdonald was named captain of the side on Friday, days after she made her debut for Super Netball’s Melbourne Vixens in the #Teamgirls Cup pre-season tournament.
She said she was thrilled to be announced as the team’s captain.
“That was really special when that got announced,” she said.
“It means a lot to me that the other girls respect me as a person on and off the court.
“It’s something I’m really looking forward to and I’m grateful to be the captain of a team full of amazing girls.”
Mcdonald said she was confident the Fury could win a national title at the championships.
“We’re expecting our team to do really well,” she said.
“We’ve got a standard that we’re expecting of ourselves going into the tournament.
“If we tick all the boxes heading into nationals we’ll have a week of success.
“It’s about these last few weeks coming together out on court and having our match play set us up for success.
“We’ll take it slowly, but once we get there we’ll be hoping for a good week out on court.”
Mcdonald’s debut in the Super Netball pre-season tournament for Melbourne exposed her to the highest level of competition in Australia.
She made her first appearance during the second half of Melbourne’s game against the Adelaide Thunderbirds, scoring two goals from seven attempts.
She said the experience had been a good one and she was keen to return to the highest level. It wasn’t my best game, but it wasn’t my worst, and I felt comfortable out on court thanks to the girls around me,” she said.
“I got good feedback from the coaches and it was nice to be able to get out on court and experience what the play is like firsthand.
“I didn’t feel too out of my depth, but obviously there is a lot of room for improvement.
“It makes it even more exciting to hopefully have a chance to play with those girls in the future.
“It solidifies the goal for me to be able to play at that level.
“Whether that’s soon or in a few years, it would be an opportunity that I would grab with both hands.”
Mcdonald’s Victorian Fury vice-captain Allie Smith was also part of the Melbourne Vixens squad for the pre-season cup and Mcdonald said the experience had primed them for a big showing at nationals.
“I was with Allie during the tournament and we were talking to each other about how excited we are for nationals,” she said.
“That type of tournament reminds us of nationals last year and we’re really looking forward to that and getting out on court each day.”