KNTNA netball 2018 season | PREVIEW
KNTNA netball 2018 season | PREVIEW
Premiers!: Lucindale's winning A grade netball side after the 2017 KNTNA grand final.
Former leading goaler Nicole Pink will coach Kingston from the sidelines this season.
Penola's Sally Skeer won't be passing to her sister Ange Donnelly (GA) this year, as Donnelly has moved back to Naracoorte.
Nikki Ervin, KLU
Tyler Atkinson, Border Districts coach.
Keith's Erika Lamont will miss this season.
Virginia Jones and Whitney Smith were opponents in last year's finals, but they will be clubmates at Keith in 2018.
Young Naracoorte defender Sophie Henschke will be part of a strong Demons squad.
Mundulla goaler Ally Wendelborn.
Bordertown's Kate Trenorden defends Naracoorte's Casey McElroy.
It’s been seven long months since Lucindale won its first KNTNA A grade netball premiership – are the Roos the team to beat again in 2018?
The season starts this Saturday, with opening round games Lucindale v Bordertown, Naracoorte v Keith, Padthaway v B/Districts, K/L United v Kyby, Penola v Kingston. Mundulla has the bye.
Read on to find out more about each A grade side’s prospects.
Kaniva/Leeor United. The Cougars have reappointed A grade coach Jo Hiscock for the 2018 season. Jo is very keen and has a fresh approach with her style of coaching and skill development.
Jo said season 2017 was a good stepping stone for the next year.
“We were unfortunate with many injuries throughout the year which hampered the A grade and the other grades as well,” she said. “We have been working hard in the off season with recruiting and retaining our current playing list and also gaining back past players with the inclusion of some new faces.
“We want to be more competitive over the whole club from previous years.”
The A grade side is hoping for an improved season turning to Carlee Feder and Nikki Ervin for another solid year along with Hailee Witmitz and Brodie Cook returning to the club and newcomer Kelsey Clark, along with other new and returning players throughout the senior grades.
Kingston. The Saints A grade netball team will head into the 2018 season with an almost unchanged line-up. Officials say the Saints have even more hunger to win games this season.
The team will be striving to work their way up from their eighth place finish last year under coach Nicole Pink.
Nicole has been a playing coach previously, however this year she will be on the sidelines allowing her to provide more guidance and advice to the team.
After obtaining an A reserves exemption in 2017, this season the Saints will be filling an A reserves team which may be challenging but the girls are up for it. They will continue to field a C grade with new players and those returning from previous years hoping to be a strong competitive team.
About 25 girls hit the court during trials and preseason training this year. Junior numbers continue to be good and the club hopes to provide as much court time as possible to all players.
The club has farewelled some players from 2017 season and wish them all the best in their netball careers and retirement.
The club is continuing to grow, offering a coach education session to enhance their skills and increase the skills of their players.
Keith's former medal-winning defender Mandy Harper.
Bordertown. The Roosters missed the A grade finals last year which was very unusual for such a successful club. This year, coached by multiple league medallist Tracey Poulton, the Roosters will be looking for a stronger showing.
There have been no player losses from the A grade, and Mel and Steph Jarrett have returned after a few years away from the club. New faces include Courtney Stott, Sophie Rodert and Shannon Higgins, who will help add depth to the club.
Kyby. Over the last two seasons the Tigers have been very fortunate to have the aunt of player Nadia Sears, Robyn Jezewski (past Newton Jaguars Premier League coach) and Leslie McIntyre (past assistant Newton Jaguars Premier coach) to support and help in planning for the future.
With this contact and forward planning, the club has been able to recruit experienced players including A grade coach and player Brooke McIntyre (Leslie’s daughter) along with Brittany Bugg and Nicole Bruce-Gordon. This is a great opportunity for all Kyby netballers, both juniors and seniors to learn from such skilled, knowledgeable and experienced netballers where the goal is to bring discipline and drive to all teams.
The aim of this recruitment is to teach, learn and share with the older heads of the club as well as the up-and-coming younger players who are willing to commit to this new program in order to provide a more competitive future for Kybybolite.
For the 2018 season, Kyby will run as an A/A Res squad. In addition to the new Adelaide recruits, the squad looks forward to seeing growth in players such as Annabel Mould and Parker Lees, while Sophie Dyer, Pip Woodard and Dellie Cox also bring experience and much-needed height.
Padthaway. The Lions had a real battle in the senior netball grades last year, not able to record a victory in A grade. But they were competitive in most games, evidenced by a healthy percentage at the end of the season, and the player numbers in senior grades were quite solid.
They are looking at a similar season this year with enthusiasm again high among the playing ranks. The Lions have some strong senior players with the experience of Emily Edwards and young gun Kelsie Moyle-Read leading the way, and they will be aiming at winning a few games at least.
Keith. After a very successful 2017 season the Keith Netball Club is again looking strong for 2018. With Erika Lamont expecting her first child in early May the club has been fortunate in securing the services of Steph Lubcke who is a former A grade goalie from the Murray Bridge region.
The Crows have also been extremely fortunate to secure the services of the 2017 KNTNA A grade medallist Virginia Ross whose family has made the move to Keith. With a great mix of youth and experience the A grade should be well placed for another finals berth.
Given the strength of the A grade the depth will again flow through to the other senior grades, and promoting talented juniors into the A Reserves and a couple of handy recruits in the B and C Grade should see Keith finishing as strong finals contenders across all senior grades.
With the changes to the KNTNA junior grading we are looking to field an U17, U16 and U15 team along with U13A through to U13C. We are excited to see so many new faces around the club and cannot wait for season 2018 to begin.
Mundulla. The Tigers were competitive last year but only managed four wins from 15 games. But the Tigers were better than that, as evidenced by their excellent percentage of just under 50 per cent, meaning their losing margins were only small.
Consistent Mundulla goal shooter Ally Wendelborn.
This year, coached by Abbie Excell, the A grade side will look to build on that result with a good mix of experienced players and promising developing young ones, and with some more luck in close games they could easily see a rise up the ladder.
Lucindale. After a successful 2017 season, Lucindale is looking forward to the 2018 minor round and continuing the positive vibe and fun camaraderie the netball club offers.
The Roos have a changing of the guard this season with Trudy Holland taking on the A grade coaching job. Trudy is a talented player and has a great rapport with her teammates and personnel throughout the club.
The A grade side has minimal changes from last year’s premiership team and will be a strong line-up again.
The girls have done preseason training with Nicole Hocking and now that trials are over and the season is underway, the club is looking to build on last year’s excellent results.
Border Districts. Borders are very pleased to have Tyler Atkinson as A grade playing coach. Tyler has come through the club’s junior program and club officials and players are sure she will bring her passion for Borders and her determination to succeed into her coaching style for 2018.
Tyler will be strongly supported by Emma Hausler in attack, Lucy Kramm through the mid-court and Della Hannaford in defence. Although Borders have lost a combination of both youth and experienced players from last season, they see it as an opportunity to try different combinations and give a new group of girls a chance to step up and improve their netball skills.
Also, after 10 years of fundraising and writing grant applications the club is very excited to finally unveil its fabulous new changeroom facilities. They are a brilliant addition to the Frances Recreation Reserve and are sure to impress all visiting teams.
Naracoorte. The Demons are perennial finalists and would be keen to bounce back from last year where they missed the grand final for just the second time since 2006. Unfortunately the club has lost one of its all-time best player Virginia Ross, who has moved to Keith, but a host of players will be back in action.
Naracoorte has unfortunately lost long-time gun Virginia Ross to Keith.
Coach is Georgia Gill (back from knee reco), and others to return are Eliza Mulraney, Bindy Manser, Kristin Donnelly and Hayley Sellars (maternity) and Annie Hunter (back from school), as well as Ange Donnelly back from a year at Penola.
As always Naracoorte will be around the mark this season.
Penola. The Eagles had a fantastic season in 2017 and if a couple of things had have gone their way late in the minor round, they could have been playing off in the grand final.
Club champion Sally Skeer will again be a leading light for the Eagles, who unfortunately have lost Skeer’s sister Ange Donnelly back to Naracoorte. The bulk of last year’s young A grade side will still be together and the Eagles will be pushing for top five again.
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