Sport
23 May, 2025
Netballers break six-year drought
The Swifts 17-and-under netballers produced a stunning display at North Park on Saturday against Harrow Balmoral, winning their first game since 2019, a one-goal thriller in the Horsham District Football Netball League.
Coached by Sophie Bird with netball director Edwina Flakemore, and senior coaches Amy Kenny and Kristy Dodds working on junior development at the club, the girls achieved something remarkable.
In the first quarter, the Baggies fought hard to take control, taking a three-goal lead into quarter time.
They started to get on top in the second quarter, with Emily Grant and Amara Jagan shooting well, to lead them a six-goal lead at halftime.
The margin was extended to nine goals at three-quarter time and everyone at the court knew they were on the verge of something special.
At three-quarter time, Bird reaffirmed to her troops that they were playing well and to focus on what they had been doing at training.
The Southern Roos, last year’s preliminary finalists were not going to go down without a fight, and with the Baggies girls not tasting a win, the nerves started to show.
The Southern Roos came home strong, but the Baggies held firm to win 36-35.
Emily Grant scored an equal game-high 23 goals in the match with Amara Jagan scoring 14 with Tora Crawford chipping in with two.
Evie Repper and Zoey Hoffmann were sensational in defense, and the drive from Alicia Martin, Kelanee Lovett, Charmaine Lockwood, Willow Freeland and Tora Crawford through the midcourt was on song.
Before this game, their average losing margin this season has been 28 points.
Bird, a first-year coach said it meant a lot to everyone.
“It was a very big deal for the girls, and they were so excited afterward,” Bird said.
“They have been trying hard at training this year to learn some new set plays and to put it into games, and it’s good that it’s paid off and they were able to get a win, especially after being smashed every game last year and this year.
“The club provided them dinner for winning and doing so well, and they had a good celebration.”
When asked what they have worked on at training that they have improved on and brought to their game, Bird said it was a lot of awareness and communication.
“We have been working on lots of channels and clearing space and focus on what other players are doing,” Bird said.
“When running down the court, always have their hands up is something we have been saying, and they did that as there were a lot of intercepts and turnovers.
“The other area of focus was the shooters getting their rebounds and the defenders focusing on rebounds, alongside a lot of talking to each other, communicating and working together which helped.”
With no online records pre-COVID, a bit of research saw that their last known win was on June 1, 2019, against Rupanyup where they won 50-21.
VICTORY A RESULT OF STRONG JUNIOR DEVELOPMENT
The 17-and-under netball victory is a testament to the hard work the Swifts have put into junior development over the last four years.
After COVID, the club lost a lot of junior players, and the focus has been on junior development starting from NetSetGo.
The 17-and-under in particular has struggled with numbers, with a lot of 15-and-under girls playing to field a team.
Netball director Edwina Flakemore, alongside senior coaches, Amy Kenny and Kristy Dodds, as well as others behind the scenes have worked tirelessly on developing the netball program.
Flakemore said the win was a testament to hard work.
“The girls were rapt and as a club we were so excited and it showed as we had the A-grade, 13-and-under, 15-and-under and a lot of others cheering them on and it shows the hard work to develop our juniors is paying off,” Flakemore said.
Flakemore said their development includes an age group between NetSetGo and Moddies.
“We have our NextGen where the players go after NetSetGo before they step into the Mods from there,” Flakemore said.
“We are not just teaching them to catch and move, but we are giving them the knowledge of the game, to know the rules, to have skills and know where they have to
play on the court so when they hit the 13-and-under age group, they hit the ground running."
“We are also putting a lot of work into mental programs. We have the senior teams helping out with juniors and getting to know the girls, and we are not separated by junior and senior grades – it's one club.”
In the current 17-and-under team, Emily Grant and Amara Jagan are two players who are stepping up into senior netball and show that they belong there.
“Emily is playing B-grade as a goal shooter, and the last two weeks has been playing terrific and holding her own,” Flakemore said.
“Amara is playing in the C-grade, and she can play anywhere and brings a dynamic.
“It’s good for them and for other juniors to know that their hard work will be recognised and they will be rewarded and allow them the opportunity to play seniors and to know they deserve to be there.”
Co-coach of seniors, Kristy Dodds said the culture is amazing, and pointed out it’s not just girls that are starting to play netball, but boys are as well.
“Each week we have a couple of 15-and-under stepping up to 17-and-under straight after their match, just to help fill a team and want to make sure the other players can play every week,” Dodds said.
“As a club, I think we are also breaking the stereotype about girls and netball because we have junior males now playing. Blayze Kenny is playing in the 13-and-under and Jed Lockwood is in our Moddies.
“We will have more in the coming years because we have a lot of boys saying to us that they didn’t know they were allowed to play, and they are now looking at playing, and it’s great to see.
“The girls are liking the different dynamics as well. Blayze is smashing it and the girls are enjoying the speed and something different being brought to the court.”
To also develop the juniors, Dodds said they are hands-on with senior netballers.
“Something we have tried to involve them in is fulfilling duties with seniors,” Dodds said.
“We are mentoring them and getting them to help with team managing and being on the sidelines in the seniors so they can take what they see back to the junior grades.”
It has been a long process to develop the juniors, and with a lot of numbers in the age groups 15 and under below, the club will be able to field a complete 17-and-under team without relying on the next age group in the future.
Edwina Flakemore said it will be an exciting time over the next handful of years.
“The strength in our 15 and 13-and-under is amazing and we have so many girls showing up and they are going to develop well,” Flakemore said.
“We also want to point out that we are a family club. If we have three-year-olds or two-year-olds who want to throw a ball around, we have plenty of juniors and parents who want to help.
“They are the future of the club.”
Read More: Stawell