Sunbury Lions are focusing on their own game plan and making sure they’ve done everything possible in the lead-up to the Ballarat Netball League finals.
With two rounds remaining, one a bye for the Lions, they’ve got four sides already qualified for finals.
Their top three sides, A, B and C grades, sit atop the ladder, with one draw and one loss between them. The D-grade side is also looking at a top-two finish, currently just percentage behind second-placed Bacchus Marsh.
Lions’ coach Adam Boldiston knows his club is the hunted this season, but is not daunted.
“We’re still going along alright,” he said.
“The last couple of weeks we’ve won in really windy conditions and the girls have worked through some really good combinations.
“We’ve had quite a few out with VNL [Victorian Netball League] commitments. We’ve had to draw on some other players. It’s pleasing to still get wins, it shows the depth in the club.
“The important stuff is still in front of us and we’re focused on what we have to do.”
Boldiston said he hoped to have his full A-grade side back for the final round against Sebastopol. He said they would use that match to work on their game plan and iron out any issues ahead of finals.
The B-grade side, which hasn’t lost since 2014 and is going for a fourth-straight premiership, has been hit with a couple of outs.
Lauren Wishart and Nicole Isles are out for the season. Boldiston said they would look at qualifying a couple of C-grade players ahead of finals to help out if needed.
“We’ve got a set seven now so we can really work on combinations,” he said.
“The competition is there and we don’t just think we’ll walk away with a premiership.
“It’s exciting and refreshing for the girls not to have it all their own way.”
The C-grade team is going for back-to-back premierships.
On Saturday, all five Lions teams had wins against Darley.
The A-grade side didn’t have any problems against the Devils, winning 70-26.
Chloe Curran shot a massive 53 goals in the win.
In the seniors’ football, the Lions were left to rue a goalless second quarter against Darley in the Ballarat Football League on Saturday.
After leading by six points at quarter-time, the Lions found themselves trailing by 19 points at the main break. The margin blew out early in the fourth quarter, before the Lions kicked some late goals to make the score more respectable.
The final score was 13.6 (84)-9.8 (62). Midfielder Tom Donoghue was best for the Lions.
