City West Falcons goaler Maggie Lind is the youngest member of Victorian Fury. 83552 Picture: JOE MASTROIANNI
By MICHAEL ESPOSITO
CITY West Falcons netballers may be solely concentrating on the upcoming Victorian Netball League finals series, but several championship players will have little time to recover from an arduous season before taking to the court on 10 August for Victorian Fury in the Australian Netball League (ANL).
City West players Kath Knott, Christie Barnes, Kate Moloney, Casey Price, and Maggie Lind are all part of the squad.
Lind, 18, is the youngest netballer in the squad.
Marg Lind, head coach of the Falcons and Maggie’s mother, said Knott, Barnes, and Price were expected inclusions in the Fury squad given their talent and experience, while Lind and Moloney, both members of Australia’s 19-and-under squad, would benefit greatly from the experience.
“I wouldn’t expect the younger players to be regulars in that team but certainly just being in that environment would be a really valuable experience,” Lind said.
“That’s the advice I give to Maggie, if you get an opportunity you’ve got to make the most of it, whether it’s a small or opportunity or a large opportunity.”
“She’s pretty committed and motivated to get what she can out of that experience.
Lind said Maggie and other young players in the Falcons’ Championship team have benefitted from having several experienced players in the squad.
“Kath (Knott) has probably been the missing link. We now have a bit of experience in each third and that has really helped our young players like Kate (Moloney) and Demi (Woodlock) and Claire (Moylan).”
“We’ve got that nice blend this year of experience and youth and we probably weren’t quite there last year.”
Lind said it was a side balanced enough to claim the VNL premiership, and the Falcons will take on Monash University tomorrow night to advance to the grand final on 4 August.
“I don’t think you can win championship with a whole line up of youngsters,” Lind said. “You can’t undervalue experience. It takes time to build that confidence under pressure.”
The ANL finals series will be hosted in Victoria at Waverley Netball Centre on 14 and 15 September.
