Tara Murray
Netball in Melbourne’s west has received a massive boost, with the Western Warriors joining the Victorian Netball League.
The Warriors are one of three clubs to join the premier netball competition in the state along with the Bendigo Strikers and Gippsland Stars.
Netball Victoria said the introduction of the Warriors addresses the fast-growing appetite for the game in Melbourne’s booming north-west fringe.
Warriors head coach Kim Bailey said it’s an exciting time for netball in the region.
“It is exciting for netball in our region,” she said. “It will create opportunities for the girls in the west and beyond.
“It’s closer to home and many girls don’t want to travel to Geelong and Casey to play, it’s very exciting.”
Bailey said a lot of hard work had been done since last year to help set up the club. The St Albans Caroline Springs Netball Association has played a huge role in getting the club up and going.
The association’s representative side, the Westside Saints, said on their social media that they were thrilled in announcing the side.
“Huge congratulations to the dedicated and hardworking group of individuals who made this dream a reality,” it said.
“Your passion and commitment have brought us here, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for our team as it embarks on its Victorian Netball League journey.”
The Warriors will be based out of Cobblebank Stadium in Melton, with Bailey saying it was a big decision where they would be located.
She said that with Melton being one of the biggest growth areas in the state, that it made sense for the club to be based there.
Bailey said they would look across the whole west and the outer areas on the way to Ballarat, Brimbank, Sunbury and Macedon Ranges will be key areas as well.
“We’ll look at Melton up to Ballarat and beyond,” she said. “We’ll look to have some good relationships with the footy and netball leagues in the area.
“We’ll look at the Ballarat, Riddell and Central Highlands leagues. There’s a big void to fill and we want to give them a chance.”
Bailey, who has coached in the VNL before, said she never thought that she would get the opportunity to be a head coach in this competition.
“I dipped my toe back into coaching with the Sunbury Lions this year,” she said.
“It struck my passion to get into coaching in the VNL again. It’s the best domestic competition in the world and the pathway is great and the opportunity to get involved was too good to say no.”
Bailey said they would look to not only draw players from the local area, but support staff as well.
Former Melbourne Vixen Kim Borger has been named an assistant coach.
The Warriors will have both championship and 23-and-under teams. Bailey said they would look to have young sides in both competitions as they look to build sides for the future.
