Western Sting Announced Ready for Competition

Last week five WAIS athletes were selected in the 2016 Western Sting Australian Netball League team in preparation for their first match on the 14th of May at the State Netball Centre.

 

Jessica Anstiss, Natalie Bright, Sophie Garbin, Annika Lee-Jones and Nicole Lendich will compete as part of the team in the eight round, new look competition, with both Bright and Lendich making their Western Sting selection debuts.

 

The Sting will begin their campaign with a double header against the Queensland Fusion in Perth.

 

After achieving four bronze medal finishes in the past five years the team will be looking to take it one step further by making their maiden grand final appearance.

 

At the conclusion of last years season, Head Coach Michelle Wilkins said “Finishing in third place three times in the last four years is something that we are aware of and we believe that the way to improve that is just to continue on the path we are on; developing our players, improving combinations and focusing on a whole team effort.”

 

This year the formatting of the Australian Netball League competition has undergone a major change, now running in conjunction with the ANZ Championship.

 

The new structure will involve double-headers between the ANL teams alongside the ANZ Championship matches, with all games being held in Australia’s major regional centres.

 

By altering the structure of the Australian Netball League, Netball Australia hope that this will help in boosting the profile of the competition.

 

The selected athletes are now training under the watchful eyes of WAIS Netball Head Coach and Western Sting Head Coach, Michelle Wilkins, where they continue to develop and grow as a team, giving them their best chance to improve on last years performance.