Two lead Tigers
After a one-season absence from Wimmera league’s top netball grade, Tracey Bell and Emma Hawker will step up to lead Nhill and District Sporting Club’s A Grade this season.
Bell played 110 games for the club’s A Grade team during her career and played finals in that time. She also won A Grade League best-andfairest honours playing for another club.
Her coaching experience includes the 2011 Wimmera league A Grade interleague team.
Hawker returns to Nhill after two years as playing coach at Kaniva-leeor United, where she saw her charges make a finals berth.
She played for Nhill in 2017 and 2018, has been an A Grade best-and-fairest winner at previous clubs and earned interleague selection.
Nhill did not field an A Grade side in the 2022 season but will return a team to the top level this year. It comes after the club won a B Grade premiership last season.
Hawker said it was ‘exciting’ to bring A Grade netball back to Nhill.
“We have a nice, core group of players at the club so it will be great to work with them and it’s always nice to fill from the top whenever possible,” she said.
“It was nice for the whole club to get a winning feeling last year that had probably been lacking a bit at Nhill the year before across all grades. It’s a chance for us to build on that. It’s not even just building on the B Grade premiership. C Grade just missed out on finals and C Reserve made finals, so I think, as a club, it’s about players having confidence in themselves.”
Hawker said she and Bell were passionate about player development.
“I feel that is where we will work really well together,” Hawker said. “Coaching is about getting the best out of players. To support them and give them confidence in their skills is the biggest thing I’ve noticed that works.
“I am a defender and Tracey is an attacker, so it’s going to be exciting to have a combination of us working on both ends.”
Hawker said she thought it was a good opportunity to put her hand up to joint coach when she knew she would return to Nhill to play netball.
“I live in Nhill and spent two years with the club before I went back to Kaniva, because that is where I originally am from,” she said.
“My sister was also playing at Kaniva, so that’s where we could meet up, but I was tired of the travel so I came back.
“I’m excited to be back at Nhill. It is a lovely club and I love being back with my friends and I’m looking forward to working with Tracey as joint coach. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience that I can’t wait to tap into as a coach and a player wherever I end up playing.”