submitted
THE Western Border Netball Association season kicks off this weekend with 2021 runners-up Millicent up against South Gambier in round one.
There is no reason to think the Saints will not be the competition pacesetters in 2022 and while they have lost the quality of Lucy Denton in the mid-court and the ability to utilise Sophie Ellis, they will still have quality in every area of the court.
Tabatha Sanderson will dominate under the post, while the smarts of Demi Verbena will have her feeding her shooting partner well.
Their task will be made easier by the retirement of Brandi Bouchier and the fact South Gambier’s other key defender Ellie Bouchier will be missing in round one.
The Saints’ mid-court featuring Paige Nitschke and Lisa Duldig will provide plenty of trouble for the makeshift South defence.
Millicent has a strong defensive group with Hannah Nitschke, Portia McRae and the returning Kimmi Tincknell.
All three are tight-checking defenders who will happily leave their opponent to find intercept ball
elsewhere on the court.
South will need to work the ball with patience into the shooting circle to avoid turnovers.
Lara Munro had a great breakout season in 2021 and will be looking to build on that in the
shooting circle for the Demons, while Alyssa Duncan will be a key at the attacking end of the court.
It is hard to predict anything but a Millicent victory in round one, but the Demons will not bow down without a fight as they look to develop and build across the season.
