Ovens and Murray coach Fiona Boyer is confident the O and M can defy a limited preparation to defend its Victorian Netball Association Championships title in Melbourne on Sunday.
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The squad trained together for the first time on Monday night, but Boyer yesterday said the O and M was still the team to beat.
“We trained at Wangaratta for the first time as a group last night and the girls put in an excellent training session,” Boyer said yesterday.
“They were really happy to be around each other.
“It was the first time we’ve been together as a full squad but we’re probably lucky that most of our group were in the team last year.
“We’re confident we can do the job again because the girls all play similar roles in their club sides so they can gel quite easily as a team.”
The O and M and arch-rival Goulburn Valley automatically advanced to the finals after being the only two teams to nominate for the North East zone titles at Shepparton last month.
The squad includes Victorian under-19 representatives Breda O’Kane (North Albury) and Maddie Byrne (Wangaratta Rovers) as well as Ellie O’Kane, Alyssa Fletcher (North Albury), Steph Tyrell, Bec and Sarah Davis, Lauren Ramsdale, Kaitlyn Bourke (Yarrawonga) and Sarah Senini and Sarah Meredith (Lavington).
Games at the championships are shorter than regular matches, but Boyer was still unsure exactly what format would be used on Sunday.
“Games are usually eight or 10-minute halves but that depends on the number of teams that enter the championships,” she said.
“I’m still not sure how long the halves will be or how many games we’ll play but they’re definitely a lot shorter and more explosive than regular club games, which actually suits us I think.
“I think our girls will relish it — they can run so hard for a short period of time and then know they’ll get a rest.”
No captain has been named, with Boyer saying that each team member brought leader ship to the squad.
Boyer said the O and M’s under-17 team also had reason to be confident of success at the titles.
“There is a lot of excitement in the under-17 team,’’ Boyer said.
“They have a lot of potential.
“There’s no reason they can’t come away with a premiership as well.
“They’re an extremely exciting group.”
