Sport
15 June, 2025
Marlin Coast netballers shine at NSW titles
DESPITE the unfamiliar weather conditions, the Marlins under 15 and 17 netball teams shone at the NSW state age titles over the weekend with standout performances and fierce determination.
The 20 girls selected by the Marlin Coast Netball Academy returned on Tuesday night after an intense weekend of netball at the NSW state age titles from June 6 to 9 where, after playing six matches per day, the under-17s came out fourth and although the under-15s didn’t make it in the top five, they showed grit and determination.
Marlin Coast Netball Academy president Heather McLaren said the girls performed great considering the hiccups with training at the start of the year.
“There were a bit of interruptions to the preparation this year because at the beginning of the year we got a lot of heavy rain and a lot of sporting events were cancelled, although ours weren’t because we have an indoor area to train on. Some of the events were postponed and clashed with our training and a lot of our girls do multiple sports,” she said.
“Although our preparation wasn’t ideal, the girls were great at adapting to the conditions and perform ed very well. We’re proud of them and they’ve represented the Marlin Coast Netball Academy really well.
“The weather was colder than we expected and it was extremely windy. It was hard to pass and catch the ball because of how windy it was.
“Despite this, our under-17s won 12 games and lost five and our under-15s won five matches.
“Even though the under-15s won five games, we were really happy with the performance because the girls had had little-to-no play together, so they all adapted really well to the conditions we had.”
Ms McLaren said this trip was all about getting the girls the experience they needed to progress their netball.
“A lot of the metropolitan teams are playing for the top division. For us it’s more about taking the girls down, having that experience of travelling to play, to work as a team, to be together for three days and learn how they cope being away from home and playing netball for three days in a row,” she said.
“We were focused on keeping them warm because it was tough on everyone but they adapted and did us proud. They were loud and proud and represented us well.”
