Sport
16 April, 2026
Lions begin season with strong victory
Great Western Lions A-Grade netballers have started their 2026 Mininera District Netball season off in strong fashion, defeating Glenthompson Dunkeld Rams by four goals at Dunkeld Recreation Reserve.
In a low-scoring first quarter, it was the Rams that took a slender one-goal lead into quarter-time before the Lions capitalised on turnovers in the second to lead by four at half-time.
The Lions then built on their lead in the third quarter, extending the margin to five before running out 31-27 winners.
Samantha Cook shot 18 goals in the match, with Ruby Thomas scoring 13, with tough conditions affecting accuracy.
Lions coach Tessa O’Callaghan was thrilled with the victory.
“It’s a really great achievement for our team as we haven’t beaten them the last couple of years,” she said.
“I think the win sets the tone for our season, and I think it’s also good for the girls to get a win under their belt and keep their spirits high, also considering the conditions were horrible to play in.”
O’Callaghan pointed out the defensive pressure as a positive.
“I think our defence down the court was really good, and the pressure from front to back was consistent throughout the whole game,” she said.
“Considering the conditions, it’s hard to pinpoint an area of improvement, so it was one of those games that was good to get a win, but didn’t give us anything to go off.”
O’Callaghan highlighted Monique Dowling’s performance in the centre, and loved the games of Inika Shalders and Ella Cox, who made their A-Grade debuts.
“Monique knows when to kick it up a gear and lifted on the court,” she said.
“Inika and Ella both combined well through the midcourt and gave us a speedy combination.”
O’Callaghan is looking forward to seeing how they respond when they host Caramut tomorrow.
“I haven’t heard a lot about what their lineup is like, but in previous years they have been very hard on the body and hard at the ball, so it’s always a good matchup and will be a good game,” she said.
“It will be nice to see what we can do in better conditions. The goal will be to hit the ground running from the first whistle until the final whistle, bringing high-standard netball.”
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