Southerners Red
The Southerners Red team is the most recent addition to the Southerners netball clan, formed almost entirely of BNL newbies from the UK, Australia, Belgium, Canada, New Zealand, and Thailand. While a few had played netball in our school days, for others the closest sport played was basketball, which meant that the first few weeks were spent learning the ropes of the countless netball rules.
The team did so with enthusiasm, as we rotated different positions to see which was the best fit and got to know each other. By January, the team came together, with Katie and Lily making a brilliant shooting pair, while Jessy ably stepped in with her long arms when Lily was away for much of March. Lynda and Rachel were our defensive bastion, while Tean, Jenette, Mel and Mel rotated as Wings and fought hard for the ball. Di, Kristy and Molly kept the ball moving as Centre.
While we’ve had a mixed season, it wasn’t for lack of trying, and we certainly were not walkovers. By the end of the season, we were playing together as a team much more smoothly, and secured a few wins, including in our semi-final against Tigers White. Unfortunately, travel plans and various injuries meant we had to forfeit a few games (including the first semi-final), though we tried to find subs whenever possible to give our opposition a friendly match. Big thanks to Lou from Mad Dogs who was our honourary Red. Thanks to all the team for playing with good spirit and I’ll miss you all next year!
By Di Archer