That much was apparent at the Netball Victoria State Titles earlier in March, and one thing was clear from Goulburn’s strong showing at the three-day State Netball Centre extravaganza.
The kids are alright.
Pitted against some of Victoria’s best talents from 18 rival regions, Goulburn’s under-17, under-15, and open netball teams defied a gruelling schedule and some tough match-ups to all end as State finalists.
However, the under-15s went one step further with a grand final berth in one of the most highly contested on-court representative cauldrons.
Spearheaded by co-captains Jorja Sprunt (Mooroopna) and Abbey McCarty (Moama), Goulburn navigated day one of the tournament undefeated, recovering from some narrow losses on day two to finish third on the ladder heading into finals.
A semi-final thriller against Dandenong Valley went the way of Goulburn before a 15-6 win over Henderson rocketed Head Coach Sharna Sibio’s side to the grand final against Two Bays.
Despite the 16-10 loss to Two Bays, Sibio said the runner-up placing was outstanding recognition for a team that had trained diligently since October.
“Seeing what the girls put out on the court all weekend was a really rewarding experience for not just the players, but the coaching staff as well,” Sibio said.
“We’re fortunate to have so much depth within that team.
“Our focus was that whole team effort and making sure that everyone played their part because that was going to get us through the 20 rounds of netball that we had to play.”
Not to be outdone, the Goulburn under-17s also secured a finals position after winning 12 games but suffered a narrow 13-10 defeat in the semi-final.
In the open netball stakes, the Bree Hanslow-coached Goulburn finished third after nine wins and, remarkably, two draws in two hours on the second day of competition.
Drawn against eventual champions Elmer in the semi-final, Goulburn were unable to topple the high-flying metropolitan association, falling 22-12 to wrap up a trio of top four finishes.
“For our region, especially the catchment across the Goulburn region, the depth of talent is fantastic,” Sibio said.
“For the girls to have the opportunity to go down and play against the best of the best [from] right across Victoria and have the opportunity to also be viewed by talent identification officials is so beneficial.”
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