SOUTH Mildura climbed off the bottom of the ladder with their first win of the SFNL A Grade netball season on Saturday, upsetting third-placed Irymple 39-37.
Playing coach Tara Bate and her team were jumping for joy after securing the victory in tricky, cold conditions at Mildura Sporting Precinct’s courts.
“I’m stoked to finally have a win on the board. We really needed it,” Bate said.
“We’re building a new team and fresh combinations, and today was a great effort by all the girls.
“The work rate was really good.”
The Bulldogs made the semi-finals last season but lost some key players ahead of round 1 this year, including young gun Morna Naquto (ACL injury).
Balranald recruit Madison Jess stepped up well for the Dogs (1-4) against the out-of-sorts Swallows (4-2), icing some clutch goals in the second half after the teams were locked at 21-apiece at half-time.
Swallows coach Sherrie Geister said she could scarcely believe her side’s high error rate after making such a strong start to the season.
“We played half quarters the entire game and I’m really disappointed with the loss, because we had so many opportunities,” Geister said.
“We’ve had a few good wins this season and we were looking to build on that momentum.
“Our game-plan today was to maintain possession and stay composed. That clearly didn’t happen.
“This just brings us down to earth.”
