Ovens and Murray netballers in the mix for state team selection

Wodonga Raiders' Mia Lavis and Eliza Mooney, and North Albury's Audrey Adams and Kate Evans have been named in the state's top 50 from both metro and country regions.

The talented youngsters will attend another trial session at Melbourne's State Hockey Centre this weekend, before the squad is reduced to 25.

The final team of 12 will be selected in the new year to compete in Hobart in April.

Adam, Lavis and Mooney have all come through Albury Netball Association's representative pathway, while Evans is a Wodonga representative.

Both associations have also produced several players in the 2022 North East Zone Talent Academy.

Albury's Lavis, Mooney, Ava Koschitzke, Maggie McGrath, Kealey Moore and Charlotte Streat, as well Wodonga's Evans, Lily McKimmie, Niamh Moylan and Elizabeth Murphy join Yarrawonga's Kaleisha Pell and Wangaratta's Imogen Robinson.

The Goulburn Valley League is also heavily represented in the squad, which was identified at the North East Zone Association Championships before trials were held last month.

Players will be led by this season's Ovens and Murray League A-grade netball coaches Fiona Boyer and Noel Halton, with the Netball Victoria Talent Academy Program aiming to offer development opportunities for young athletes.

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After enduring disruptions to competitions due to the Covid pandemic, Albury representative coordinator Leonie Mooney said it was great to see young players receiving these opportunities.

"Despite those disruptions, they've continued to progress," Mooney said.

"We've had a talented group of girls through the academy and rep program over the last couple of years and we're really excited that they're progressing through these pathways."

It caps off what has been an exciting month for Albury after being named Association of the Year at the recent Netball Victoria Community Awards.

The association was praised for its efforts in staying connected throughout lockdowns and pandemic restrictions, as well as the effective use of umpire mentoring programs.

"It was an awesome result after trying to keep netball going in the community when we were able to during some difficult years," Mooney said.

"We have fantastic facilities and we try to make sure that people have the opportunity to play netball.

"It was a really nice reward for everybody's efforts."

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