The future looks bright for Dubbo Netball Association after a dominant showing from a host of rising stars at the 2024 Central West Regional League.
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The build-up to the March 24 competition at Orange was far from perfect for the Dubbo association, but those struggles were forgotten by the end of the day.
The Dubbo side, predominantly made-up of the association's under 17s representative side, was dominant in Division 2. It won eight-from-eight and defeated Blayney 52-37 in the grand final.
"It's so exciting," coach Tash Robinson said.
"We only had maybe two or three weeks of training and the progress they made from week one to week three, and to then take the court as a team and put everything we practiced on the court was really, really exciting to watch.
"I've been keeping an eye on them on a Tuesday night (at junior training) and they've come such a long way. They're just such a great group of girls.
"The tenacity and the desire to perform at a high level from that group is really, really exciting for Dubbo netball."
The Division 2 crown was a satisfying reward for Tash Robinson, assistant coach Karen Weekes and the entire Dubbo association after a bumpy build-up to the league weekend.
Injuries and player availability problems meant Dubbo was unable to field a Division 1 team while even getting final numbers for Division 2 was a battle at one point.
Making a name for themselves
The squad which played at Orange was almost entirely under 17s while Sharon Andrews provided invaluable experience.
"They did really well considering that we only managed to a full team the Tuesday before," Robinson said.
"They were composed and showed great skills. I was very impressed and proud.
"A shout out has to go to their junior coach, Kylie McKeown, too."
A number of players shone at Orange and marked themselves as ones to watch ahead of this year's junior state titles.
Kate Hoey tops that list after starring during the run to the title.
An attacking player who spent time at wing-attack and centre, Hoey set-up a lot of Dubbo's best attacking raids.
On the defensive end, Shennaya Clark, Kaliah West and Sienna Marchant were "impenetrable" at times and their turnovers helped the side stay on top.
"The games that we were able to really run away with were thanks to them," Robinson added.
"A huge shout out to all those girls."
High hopes for the future
As pleasing as the weekend was, Robinson said the association was "really disappointed" it didn't field a Division 1 side.
A team was originally put forward but injuries and withdrawals made it impossible, leaving two Orange side, Bathurst and Mudgee in the top grade while Dubbo took on Blayney, Cowra and Parkes in Division 2.
"We love to be competitive and we want to be right up the top there with the best, but just wasn't our year this year," Robinson said.
"Hopefully next year we'll be back bigger and better and we'll have Division One and Division Two."
The lack of Division 1 doesn't point to any struggles in senior numbers in Dubbo, with plenty of interest around in the lead-up to the 2024 local season.
The competition is set to start on Saturday, May 4 and while grading is yet to be completed, there is the chance of more teams taking part in A Grade this year.