Sport
17 September, 2024
Patten collects Sing Medal
Sunday night was one to remember for Ella Patten, collecting her second consecutive Carol Sing Medal for the 17 and under best and fairest in the Bendigo Football Netball League (BFNL) Michelsen and Betty Thompson Medal count.
It was a year to remember for Patten, starring in the North Central and BFNL representative teams, as well as taking Mary-borough to finals appearances in the 17 and under grade, as well as A reserve.
She made history as the first back-to-back recipient of the Carol Sing Medal, fittingly named after the multiple-time league best and fairest and BFNL Hall of Famer for the Magpies across the mid 90s.
A host of support flooded the room for Patten, which included her 17 and under teammates, as well as A reserve coach Maggie Tranter — herself a Carol Sing Medallist in 2017.
Patten, as ever, was blown away by the opportunity to receive a second medal from Carol Sing.
“I’m so honoured to be able to receive an award off her,” she said.
It’s been a busy year for Patten, but she has taken everything in her stride, using the lessons learned from representative netball to help her teammates excel themselves.
“It’s been quite a busy year, but I’ve loved every minute of it,” she said.
“I guess I’m lucky enough to read the play pretty well, which definitely helps, and especially the girls that I play with — I wouldn’t be able to do it without them. They always help me better my own game as well.
“I have learned a lot from the representative netball that I’ve done — that’s something I have focused on there, and it’s been great to implement that into my own team, so I can teach it to my teammates as well.
“They taught me to back myself, if I see something, go for it, and what the worst could happen is that it doesn’t happen, and you just go for the next one.”
Patten spoke highly of Tranter, who has also helped her excel at a senior level from the outset.
“Maggie is amazing on and off the court. She’s so supportive and a great leader. I love playing defence with her and I’ve learned so much from her throughout the season,” she said.
While the Magpies troubles with player numbers has been well-established this season, Patten still holds hope that there are others in the future who might experience getting to play for the club.
“It means so much (to play for the club). It’s been my whole junior netball, and I’ve been grateful to play for Maryborough. I hope that everyone else in the future get to experience that too,” she said.
Inbetween, Patten is now hoping to potentially take her game to the next level, eyeing a potential spot in the Victorian Netball League (VNL) in the future.
“I think I would be interested for trying out for some VNL teams if I get the time to,” she said.
“It would be nice to go to the Strikers as it’s nice and close to home, but that all depends on where I go to university next year.”
There was also good news for Coby Perry, who was named in the BFNL’s football team of the year on the interchange bench.
Perry’s incredible season saw him named in the best from all 15 games that he played, as well as averaging almost 40 disposals per game throughout the entirety of the season — an incredible effort from the captain/coach in his most productive season yet.
The vote count for the Michelsen Medal saw a three-way tie between Gisborne duo Braidon Blake and Brad Bernacki, as well as Sandhurst’s Lachlan Tardrew, all polling 20 votes.
Defender Kya Lanfranchi was the leading vote-getter for Maryborough, polling four votes, with Perry polling two votes, and Bailey Edwards and Josh Britten polling a vote apiece.
The Betty Thompson Medal was won by Kangaroo Flat’s Chelsea Sartori, winning for the second straight year.