Sport
13 September, 2024
Patten flies home to secure second Carol Sing Medal
Monday was a historic night for Maryborough’s Ella Patten, becoming a back-to-back best and fairest of the Bendigo Football Netball League (BFNL) 17 and under netball competition.
Patten became the first back-to-back winner in the 17 and under competition since the award’s inception in 2004, which makes her achievement extra special for the Magpies, given the award is named after Maryborough netball great Carol Sing.
Patten’s triumph means it is the third time a Maryborough player has won the award, with her two successes joining current A reserve coach Maggie Tranter in 2017.
The night started with the second half of the count, with Patten in a three-way tie for the lead with Castlemaine’s Kyla Byrne and Sandhurst’s Neve Pinner on 14 votes.
After falling to third following round 15’s votes, Patten overtook Pinner and South Bendigo’s Eden Clifford with three-vote performances in round 16 and 17.
Patten’s sole ownership of the award was confirmed in the final round, when Pinner polled two votes, while Patten polled three votes in the Magpies’ loss to Sandhurst to score 28 votes, winning from Pinner on 24 votes, while Clifford was third on 21 votes.
The result marked another incredible season for the versatile Patten, who starred for the North Central team in the Netball Victoria state titles in March, before going on to play for the BFNL in June, helping the league finish fourth in the 17 and under competition.
Patten’s ability to generate counter attacks thanks to her intercept game helped secure a third-place finish for Maryborough in the 17 and under competition, but the Magpies were unable to win a final, instead going out in straight sets after losses to Golden Square and Strathfieldsaye.
Patten’s influence was also key for the A reserve team which also participated in finals, finishing fifth and taking victory in the first week of the finals against Kanga-roo Flat before they were eliminated last week by Strathfieldsaye.
There were also top 10 finishes in the vote count in the A reserve competition for Maryborough, with Jordan MacIlwain finishing just one vote short of finishing equal second, scoring 16 votes to finish fifth, behind a tie for the award, with Flat’s Emma Moroney and Strathfieldsaye’s Lucy Spalding polling 20 votes apiece to win.
Magpies’ wing defender Amanda Durbridge was in the top three with three rounds to go, but injury meant she had to settle for equal sixth with 15 votes.
The season was a great reward for MacIlwain and Durbridge, who utilised their experience for the younger cohort of Magpies to help accelerate their development into the A reserve finals.