In back-to-back weekends of pre-season netball, the GIANTS are this weekend bound for Bendigo.
The GIANTS will be one of four teams playing two practice matches each as part of the blockbuster weekend of netball in Bendigo.
The GIANTS join the Melbourne Vixens, Adelaide Thunderbirds and last weekend’s opponents - the Sunshine Coast Lightning - for two days of action at Bendigo’s Red Energy Arena.
“I love going to regional areas,” said Head Coach Julie Fitzgerald.
“I think it’s fabulous we can take our netball to those towns and help grow the game.”
The GIANTS will come up against the Adelaide Thunderbirds on Saturday, before taking on the hosts, the Melbourne Vixens for the first time since the 2022 Preliminary Final.
“It’s always good to see new-line ups, particularly Adelaide, they’ve got a couple of interesting inclusions in their team and it will be great to have a hit out against them and see how we go,” Fitzgerald said.
The Thunderbirds welcome a new-look shooting circle in 2023, with the addition of English Rose Eleanor Cardwell and the elevation of South Australian talent, Lucy Austin.
“We’re going to have to be very careful that we put full court pressure on all the way down the court," Fitzgerald said.
“They have the potential to put in a very tall line up and we’ll have to make sure we have the tools in the box to beat that.”
The Vixens are the only other team – except for the GIANTS – to carry the exact same playing list into season 2023.
“I have no doubt that they’ll try to lift it another level and want to have teams guessing,” Fitzgerald admitted.
“When a team has been together for a while, like the Vixens, you’re always trying to mix things up, change things around and keep things interesting – so I’ll be on the look out for any of that.”
Off the back of last weekend’s games against the Sunshine Coast Lightning, there is plenty fine tune and put into action.
“I think having played another SSN team last weekend, the things that we really want to work on have become more obvious and we’ve talked about that during the week and hope to see that in action over the weekend," Fitzgerald said.
Jo Harten (knee), Amy Parmenter (routine injury management) and April Brandley (routine injury management) will not take part in this weekend’s matches.
All four training partners – Jemma Donoghue, Charli Fidler, Ang Frketic and Erin O’Brien – will once again join the team.
All games will be live streamed with the two GIANTS games available for viewing via the GIANTS Netball Facebook page.
Saturday 11 February – GIANTS v Thunderbirds
Red Energy Arena, 3:00pm
Watch Here
Sunday 12 February – Vixens v GIANTS
Red Energy Arena, 1:00pm
Watch Here
GIANTS Squad
Jemma Donoghue
Sophie Dwyer
Charlie Fidler
Ang Frketic
Maddie Hay
Matisse Letherbarrow
Tilly McDonell
Lauren Moore
Erin O’Brien
Jamie-Lee Price
Amy Sligar
