Sport
21 March, 2024
Magpies out of A grade netball
Maryborough have with-drawn from the A grade Bendigo Football Netball League (BFNL) competition for 2024, instead electing to field a team in A reserve to ensure long-term sustainable success. The Magpies’ withdrawal means there will be eight...
Maryborough have with-drawn from the A grade Bendigo Football Netball League (BFNL) competition for 2024, instead electing to field a team in A reserve to ensure long-term sustainable success.
The Magpies’ withdrawal means there will be eight teams in the BFNL A grade competition, following Kyneton’s earlier departure from the league over the off-season.
A number of players had departed the club throughout the off-season, including leading goalscorer Keely Hare, best-and-fairest runner-up Tori Chandler and young players such as Alex Williams, Abbey Nalder and Finley Wagstaff.
Maryborough president Scott Quinlan said while every avenue was explored in keeping the Magpies in the A grade competition, it was better for the long-term sustainability of the club to ensure they could play in A reserve for 2024 and ensure they could return to the competition in 2025.
“I was guided by Alicia Cassidy and Alisha Chadwick. They were the two, in consultation with [coach] Maggie Tranter,” he said.
“Maggie wanted to stay in A grade, but after a discussion, we came away from that, and sought advice from those two women, who told me we need to open up the potential discussions with the BFNL and the board of just this year, dropping back to A reserve, with a view and a goal that we will, throughout 2024, in conjunction with Netball Victoria and the BFNL board, formulate a plan to ensure Maryborough is back in the A grade netball division.
“That’s a big ticket item for the club throughout the year.”
Quinlan believes such a move to A reserve will allow them the opportunity to be more competitive and fight for wins, which would help preserve the club’s status, as well as recruitment opportunities down the line.
“You don’t have to be human to work out if you were copping big losses every week, the girls would look over the fence and look elsewhere in 2025. It’s not what you want to do. A couple of wins could change the morale and enthausiasm, especially with where the girls have been sitting,” he said.
“We’ve had another young girl who has come over from Kangaroo Flat who was in the 17s, but she would have been in the A grade team.
“We feel those girls will benefit from the A reserve competition, from a longevity and a locker room thing, where there will be a bit more morale from it, but we believe these girls will also be a big part of the 2025 A grade season.”
Quinlan was quick to praise the efforts of the BFNL board, who accomodated all of Maryborough’s requests to ensure they could remain competitive throughout the season.
“When we opened up the negotiation with Cam Tomlins and the BFNL board, I wrote to them formally about three weeks ago, they jumped on the next day with an extraordinary board meeting, and then there was a Zoom meeting. Cam and [BFNL president] Carol McKinstry, credit to them, they were very supportive of the move,” he said.
Maryborough will continue their preparations for the new season, with the Magpies to open the season in their Good Friday clash with Castlemaine next week.