BNL 2023: Team previews ahead of big netball season

To say North Ballarat is heading into the 2023 Ballarat Football Netball League A Grade season with a target on its back would be an understatement.

The dominant Roosters have won a remarkable three-straight premierships and look in the box seat to go again this season.

Legendary Roosters coach Annie McCartin said her girls would "thrive" being the hunted once again this season.

"It is a credit to the girls' hard work to be going for our fourth-consecutive premiership," McCartin said.

"We're really looking forward to what 2023 might bring because there has been a lot of recruitment going on so you never know who you're going to come up against on the court."

North Ballarat lost just one game en route to premiership glory against Darley in 2022.

It will be a different-looking season in 2023, with McCartin acknowledging rival teams had recruited hard to bridge the gap to the Roosters.

"Hearing on the grapevine some of the recruiting, it just gives you that extra motivation that we have to take it to another level this season," McCartin said.

"We know we're going to have to be at our best to reach the grand final."

Blanche Thompson of Melton and Ballarat's Alysha Forrest.

Both the Bloods' A Grade and B Grade sides will be led by Nichole Perry as Melton fields a side in all six grades.

"The main goal when I was appointed was to field six sides and we've managed to achieve that which is amazing," Perry said.

"Our netball coordinators have worked tirelessly to recruit players and coaches around the community to join the club and establish competitive sides."

Perry, who spent time involved in the junior program at Darley, said she came to Melton with a blank canvas due to not knowing many of the players.

With the club not fielding an A Grade side last year, there also is not too many expectations or pressure on the new-look side.

"I don't feel under the microscope, there's no expectations on us which is good for the girls and myself," Perry said.

"The whole idea behind getting the girls involved is creating a positive environment for people to come."

East Point finds itself without some key players ahead of the 2023 Ballarat Football Netball League A Grade season, but new coach Lauren Bruty remains upbeat.

Bruty has stepped into the role for 2023 and is ready to lead her fellow teammates from last year.

"It's exciting, it's a new role for me, usually I'd be out there playing with the girls," Bruty said.

East Point finished sixth with an 8-8 win-loss record last year, but Bruty noted that the Roos did not have a full team until the final round of the season.

"Last season was a bit rocky with injuries," Bruty said.

"It made it quite difficult for us but we still had experienced players last year which was handy, whereas this year it is pretty much a completely new look with young girls coming through."

This year, East Point's oldest player is just 27 years old.

"We've managed to fill all teams which is great but we've had a lot of experienced players retire and a lot of players start to travel," Bruty said.

"But it is very exciting to see what our young girls are capable of."

Sebastopol's netball program is overflowing with eager players in 2023 as the Burra look to capitalise on some impressive momentum shown last season.

Narelle Perkins has taken over at Sebastopol ahead of the 2023 Ballarat Football Netball League season.

"It was actually one of our biggest pre-seasons in terms of both fitness and people trying out for the sides," Perkins said.

"I think it shows how far the club has come to be in a position like this with huge numbers.

Adrianna Cann is back at Sebastopol in 2023.

"It means that our sides have a lot of depth in them which I'm excited to see how that plays out through the season."

Sebastopol recorded just four wins last season, but it was the success across other grades which has the club full of excitement ahead of 2023.

"Last year was one of Sebastopol's most successful years in finals for netball," Perkins said.

"We had a handful of teams in finals across all grades and we just want to keep building on that.

"All teams are looking really strong, we've got new players in every single grade so it is looking really good."

Young gun Adut Manyiel is back for another season at Sebastopol, but Adrianna Cann's return to the Burra should bring plenty of class.

"We're all pretty excited to see her (Cann) back this season," Perkins said.

"She just brings such knowledge and calmness to our attack which we sort of missed last year with her sister Georgia not playing."

"Adrianna has completely changed up the dynamic up in attack for us which is super exciting."

Ballarat recorded just three wins last season en route to an eighth-placed finish, but head coach Karen Goonan believes the ability is there for her side.

"We're looking good so far, we're keen for the weekend to get an understanding of where we sit compared to the rest of the league," Goonan said.

"We're aiming for finals this year and I think we've got a core group of girls that have stayed around and a few development girls coming into the side.

"I'm hoping we can take a bit of control of some games with a good attack."

Ballarat's ability to retain its players from last year has been impressive, with Goonan hoping they can create a positive environment.

"The vibes amongst the club are really good," Goonan said.

"There's definitely some ability there, we just need to create a good team environment where the girls can push themselves to their full potential.

"We've got a good bunch of people hanging around the club, the club is healthy in terms of numbers and we're really happy with our retention."

Goonan was fully aware of where the Swans were coming from following a three-win season.

"We're still in a development phase but we're hoping we can at least make some big improvements," Goonan said.

"It will be interesting to see how the competition shapes up."

Sunbury is back in the Ballarat Football Netball League A grade in 2023 and already making its mark.

The Lions wasted no time showing their intent this season, with star recruit Taylah Honey the first to join the club over summer.

Honey, a Melbourne Vixens premiership winner in 2020, has Sunbury coach Kim Bailey full of excitement ahead of the season.

"Having someone of Taylah's experience has just been awesome for our club," Bailey said.

"She was the first player we signed which really helped us with our recruiting drive.

"She's just such a quality player and a quality person, she's exactly who we want at our club.

The recruiting drive at the Lions over the off-season has been strong as past players and talented new recruits have Sunbury looking competitive.

"Our coaches have gone out and done some heavy recruiting and tried to get girls that we know would be the right fit for our club," Bailey said.

"It was a big challenge and a big job but we're really happy with what we've got at the moment. We've gone from three sides last year to six which we're really happy about.

"We lost a lot of local girls during COVID-19 so we've tried to get some of them back. It has been great to get three A Grade premiership players back this year in Elly Randall, Ruth Smith and Sophie O'Kane."

Fielding a team in every division was the first goal for Bailey, now it is time to show the league what the Lions are capable of.

"It's my home club and that is why I felt like I needed to come and help them out of this situation," Bailey said.

"I want to help build the club up so we can have some success again."

Redan fell just shy of a Ballarat Football Netball League grand final appearance last year, but the Lions are ready to show what they are capable of this season.

After premiership glory at Buninyong, Erin and Sally Riley return to the Den for 2023 in what co-coach Ruby Parry called a "massive" signing.

"We're very excited about their signings," Parry said.

"They're very talented netballers but they are also amazing for culture which is a really big thing for us.

"Their leadership both on and off-court is invaluable. I feel like they are both an asset not only because they are guns but because there is so much more they bring to a club."

The Riley sisters will help the club build on last year's third-placed finish.

"We built a lot last year, we fell short in losing two preliminary finals but we made great progress," Parry said.

"With a few more key players and a chance to build on the great culture we made last year, we feel like we can really improve.

"We've also get some very talented juniors in the ranks which is exciting."

Along with the youthful talent, Redan is welcoming back some key re-signings during a time when player retention has been difficult.

"We're thrilled to have Kat O'Dwyer, Ash Smith and Mackenzie Nicholson back at the club," Parry said.

"They are massive parts of our team."

Well-organised duo in Parry and playing co-coach Hayley Munro will lead their Lions into 2023.

"We're both very similar as coaches and we're pretty much on the same page all the time," Parry said.

"We have a big focus on how our players feel and know that the culture of the club is an important factor as to how we play.

"People win when they have fun playing."

Parry said it had been a strong pre-season as her side eagerly awaits Friday's season opener.

"We've had really good turnouts to our pre-season sessions," Parry said.

"Training has been really consistent and we're really looking forward to Good Friday, we feel ready."

Redan came out on top in both its encounters with Lake Wendouree last season and will hope to do the same in 2023.

After sneaking into A Grade finals last year, Lake Wendouree is hoping to solidify itself as a finals contender in the 2023 Ballarat Football Netball League season.

Head coach Courtney McLean is back for her second year at the helm as the Lakers have enjoyed a "smoother" pre-season.

"We lost seven players at the start of last year so we had a completely new side in 2022," McLean said.

"It's really nice that we've been able to retain everybody because we should improve again.

"We have some really experienced players mixing with some young ones that are playing at a super high level."

Eloise Ritchie, Rosie Todd and Sadie Cheeseman return to the Lakers from Victoria Netball League duties ahead of the BFNL season.

McLean said the up-and-coming trio "definitely deserved" to play A Grade netball last year.

"We were concerned about how it (playing the juniors) would work out," she said.

"The girls who came up from juniors were outstanding and crucial for us in the end."

Cheeseman, who is only in year 12, is a talent McLean is eager to watch progress this year.

"She (Cheeseman) was our best player in round one and we just thought it was going to be silly not to have her on full time," McLean said.

"It was a bit difficult for her because she was still passionate about playing with the young girls but obviously wanted to do the best by her as well."

Cheeseman helped the Lakers finish fifth, but McLean believed her side was unlucky not to finish higher.

"We hoped we were going to play finals and we did," McLean said.

"I definitely think we were a bit unlucky with the draw in the end, instead of playing Sunbury and Melton twice we ended up playing the two grand finalists again."

Lake Wendouree ended up losing to eventual runners-up Darley in the first week of finals.

It was the Lions who got the better of Lake Wendouree in both encounters last season.

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