When Sunbury Lions’ captain Beck Anstey decided to enter a team in the Netball Victoria Masters Super 7’s competition last Sunday, she didn’t have to look far for teammates.
The first place she looked for 3E Lions members was from among current and former Sunbury Lions colleagues.
“I started with the Sunbury Lions girls like Jen Lewis, myself and Prue [Stanley],” Anstey said.
“Only two players in the team hadn’t been involved with the Lions, but I’d played with them over the years. And once I put a team in, I wanted to win.”
Entered in the over-30s competitive division, the team had to adapt to the super 7’s rules.
“This is the first year they’ve used this format,” Anstey said. “There’s a power play in the first and second halves; goals are doubled when you have a power play and you get three points for goals shot from outside the circle.
“We went with three tall goal shooters in our squad instead of having a shorter, dodging fast goal attack. Our midcourt was really quick instead. It was all a bit strategic.”
The Lions made the grand final but entered the game as underdogs after losing to Power in the round robin stage.
“They made us look silly in the second round,” Anstey said. “They had a team full of former state league players.”
Luck went the way of the Lions in the final, which they won 28-15.
Despite entering the competition wanting to win, the end result came as a surprise to Anstey.
“It was great fun and a great excuse to catch up with the girls,” Anstey said. “We were very surprised to have won the competition.”
