Gray switched on in Merbein defence

A COOL head under pressure, Johannah Gray steadied the ship in Merbein’s win over Red Cliffs at the weekend, in the process showing everyone the value that experience brings to a side.

“It was definitely a back-and-forth game, I think our defence really stood up, we held up well and got the ball back into our front end a lot,” she said.

The primary school teacher who has spent seven years at A Grade level said she had enjoyed a move into defence the past two seasons.

“It’s definitely a physical game, I enjoy it,” she said.

“There’s pressure for you to come up with the ball … you’re reading the attacking play, so there’s a bit of anticipation, you’ve really got to switch your brain on.”

Gray said being the oldest in the team had made her a leader by default, although this was further cemented by her peers, who voted her in as the team’s captain at the start of the season.

Having moved over from South Mildura a few years back, Gray and her sisters Emily and Sophie have since featured in the same team, something that all three were grateful for.

“It’s pretty cool actually, I’m at the defensive end, my other sister plays centre and then my other sister is in goal attack,” Gray said.

“We’re very lucky, I don’t know many teams that have the opportunity to play with their sisters.”

Gray said the culture at Merbein had shown improvement during her time at the club and although it was somewhat early in the season, signs were positive.

“Club culture at Merbein has been good, if I was an outside netballer I would want to be here, we’ve worked hard on that the last few years,” she said.

“I think we’re looking pretty good, on a whole I think we’re quite strong … we’ve got a lot of potential coming through.

“It’s early to say but I think it’s looking like we’ve got a decent team.”

As the Netballer of the Round, Gray receives $100 courtesy of Mildura Golf Resort and Sunraysia Daily