The Sunbury Lions are again expected to be among the hunted in the Ballarat Netball League this year.
Having claimed the A-grade premiership and with three other teams playing off in grand finals, the Lions were one of the standouts last season.
And Lions coach Adam Boldiston said the early signs showed they would again be a strong club.
He said many of those looking to join were locals, while a few players had recently moved to the area and were looking for a club.
“We had a lot of players turn out for selections,” he said.
“It’s the most players ever to turn out and we ended up having three try-outs. There’s a lot more versatility across all the sides.”
Boldiston said they had kept together the core group which lost just one game across the A-grade season.
The only omissions are Monique Clark, who will play in the Riddell District Netball League, while star shooter Chloe Curran is likely to play the first few rounds before moving overseas.
The experienced Renee Hulls will help fill the void in goals. Hulls spent last season at Darley as their playing coach.
Hulls will also coach the Lions under-19 team.
Boldiston said they would also look to add another attacking option with plenty of options in defence.
In B-grade, the club is hopeful that Lauren Wishart and Nicole Elses will return from pregnancy and a knee injury respectively. Overall, Boldiston said they had more depth than they had last season.
“Last season I put out the challenge to them that I wanted all five teams to make finals,” he said.
“This year we’ve added depth to the under-19s with Renee coaching them and she can impart some knowledge on them.
“I think they can get some more wins on the board and play finals this year along with the other teams.”
Despite such high expectations on the club, Boldiston said the playing group was prepared for the challenge.
“The girls hate losing,” he said.
The Lions start their season on April 21 against Redan at Clarke Oval.
Tara Murray
