An undermanned Sunbury Lions returned to the court after two weeks off and pulled off a bonus win in the Ballarat Netball League.
After interleague commitments and a bye, the Lions didn’t have a chance to ease back into things, facing North Ballarat City in a grand final rematch.
While the Lions entered the match on top of the ladder and undefeated, coach Adam Boldiston was unsure how they would go with Victorian Netball League commitments having an impact on player availability.
Four players from the side’s B-grade side came up and played in the A-grade side.
Boldiston was also concerned how the team would go after two weeks off, with the side having a habit of coming back rusty after a break. He shouldn’t have worried, with the Lions gaining an early lead and able to hold onto it all day.
The Lions led by four goals at the first break and that ended up being the final margin, with the Lions winning 48-44.
Amanda Cusack, who came up from the B-grade side, was best on court shooting 43 goals from 50 attempts for the Lions.
Ruth Smith and Ashleigh Hardy also had strong games.
Boldiston said while it was disappointing not to have both sides at full strength in such a big game, he did see a bright side to it.
“It’s a little bit disappointing,” he said.
“We’re not showing our hand and what we’re capable of as we don’t have our actual line-up. That could be a bonus come finals time.
“There will be one or two B-graders who can gain some respect.”
Sitting 5-0, Boldiston said they were happy with how their season had gone so far, having been tested in a couple of games and having played some really good patches.
“We’ve been building on the connections and we’ve had to rotate B-graders through due to VNL.
“It’s been quite frustrating, but also an opportunity for others.”
The Lions next phase of the season will test them, as they face a lot of the other sides in the top six, or on the edge.
Boldiston said one area which is starting to improve is the attacking half, which is a new-look combination this season.
He said goalers Ruth Smith and Tarnee Adams were both starting to gel together.
Boldiston is also hopeful of having Kate Fletcher a bit more in the next few weeks, with the midcourter restricted to just one game this season.
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Tara Murray
