Not only did Riddell return to the winners’ list, but star defender Lauren Close made her comeback in the Riddell District Netball League on Saturday.
Close, who played a couple of quarters earlier in the season, was given the all-clear to make a full comeback after a knee reconstruction last year.
Speaking before the game, last year’s Ryan medalist said she was excited to get back onto the court.
“The girls kept joking that I’d come back through C-grade” she said. “I’ll play where and when the team needs me.”
Close helped the Bombers to a 45-22 win over Melton Centrals on Saturday, despite having goal shooter Mikaela Vaughan on Australian Netball League duty.
But while Close has returned to the court, Riddell has lost Bridget Aughton for the rest of the year.
“She’s travelling overseas and has gone indefinitely but we’ll always welcome her back,” Close said.
“We have lost a bit movement through the midcourt with her missing.”
Close said last week’s draw against Romsey had been a bit of a wake-up call.
“We didn’t turn and, credit to Romsey, they were a lot quicker and cleaner with the ball,” she said.
“We had a poor warm-up and it showed in the first quarter. It definitely shocked a lot of the girls.”
To make sure it doesn’t happen again, the girls are stepping up training in the lead-up to finals.
“We normally train once a fortnight but it’s back to once a week to work on team structure,” Close said.
The Bombers’ goal is to go one step further than last season, when they were beaten in the grand final after losing only one match in the regular season.
“We want to finish strong,” Close said. “We need to lift on the run home.”
In a round which saw the top six teams all play each other it was Rupertswood and Romsey who got the big wins.
The Sharks beat Lancefield 51-34, while the Redbacks hot form continued with a 52-32 defeat of Macedon.
In other results, Diggers Rest beat Sunbury Kangaroos and Rockbank was too good for Woodend-Hesket.
