Tara Murray
Werribee Centrals are hoping to be stronger than last season in the Geelong and District Netball League competition.
After finishing fourth last season before making the grand final, Centurions netball coordinator Ellie Tubbs said with a core group returning they were hoping to have another strong season.
“Hopefully we can be stronger than last year,” she said.
“We did it the hard way last year coming from fourth and dropping a few games along the way.
“The focus is to be switched on from the start of the season.”
Hailey Kennedy has stepped up to coach the side this season, having been involved with the club for a number of years.
Tubbs said it was exciting to have Kennedy take over.
“It’s a new adventure for her,” she said. “She hasn’t coached at the A-grade level before.
“She’s been really positive and has a specific way to get things done.”
On the playing side, only Ellie Vincent has departed after moving to Mildura. Alual Garang, who is part of the under-19 team and played C-grade last season, has stepped up to fill the void.
Tubbs said keeping the core group together was a massive plus for the side.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” she said. “We’ve been playing together for such a long time, which is really positive as we’re on the same page.
“We’ve got a new goal defender in Alual. It’s good to see some young girls coming up and playing in competitive games and getting more minutes.”
The Centurions got their fourth win of the season on Saturday, beating Thomson, 56-42.
Tubbs said the most pleasing thing for the group was being able to bounce back from a disappointing performance from the week before.
“We were really happy to get the win,” she said.
“We had a bit of a point to make and we were able to respond in a really big way against Thomson.
“You don’t know what to expect the first time you play teams in a season.
“We were able to create good rotations and the team gelled really well. Alual come on in the second half and her height in the circle along with Amanda’s [O’Malley’] height was really good.”
Tubbs shot 33 goals and was named her side’s best.
Tubbs said across the program there were plenty of numbers. One of the most exciting things for the club is having an under-13 team for the first time.
“It’s really sweet,” she said. “They got their first win on the weekend after not scoring many goals earlier in the season.
“We have eight sides this year for the first time ever.”
