Buoyed by the return of gun Emily Williams, who just missed out on the NSW under-17 side this year, the Orange Lightning head into Sunday’s second round of the Netball NSW Bing Lee West-Central West Regional League at full-strength.
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Orange’s under 17s won one of their opening three games three weeks ago but considering the calibre of players they boast most suggested their defeats to Orange Thunder (56-36) and Bathurst (45-28) aren’t reflective of the group’s potential.
Lightning coach Mikayla Riley said as much too.
“I don’t think the Regional League has seen the best of us yet, no,” she said, but also admitted the competition is as much about bringing the side together ahead of the Netball NSW State Championship as it is winning the title.
“The Regional League is definitely important to us but we’re using these round games to try and bring the group together and work on all our combinations, to make sure we’re really comfortable as a group before we go away to state.
“The main focus this weekend will be working those combinations around, against some really tough opposition. It’s great preparation for us.
“It certainly helps having Em come back into the side, she missed the first round with an ankle injury, so we’ve got everyone on deck. All 12 of the squad will get a good run this weekend, which is great.”
The Lightning face Dubbo first-up on Sunday morning, the only side the under-17 outfit trumped in Bathurst three weeks ago.
That game starts at 9am at Sir Neville Howse Stadium, before the Lightning square-off with the Thunder from 11.20am and then Bathurst at 1.40pm.
- ORANGE LIGHTNING: Sophie Brisbane, Rhiannon Dennis, Alex Emerson, Siara Jawai, Ally Kaufman, Millie Lenehan, Kate Mastronardi, Lucy Nagle, Milika Tuinakauvadra, Tabua Tuinakauvadra, Emily Williams, Farrah Staniforth
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
