THE talent of western suburbs netballers has been recognised with more than a third of the players named in state teams to compete in the Australian Netball League coming from the west.
Selectors for Victorian Fury and Victorian Flames squads have recruited heavily from City West Falcons or VU-Western Lightning.
Players came to the attention of selectors when both teams squared off in last year’s Victorian Netball League grand final.
The Fury, a traditional team in the ANL, is looking to bounce back after a fifth-place finish last season.
Selectors have picked Elle Bennetts, Erin McCarthy and Fiona Themann from the Lightning and Kate Moloney and Casey Price from the Falcons.
Nicole Richardson, an assistant coach and former player at the Falcons, will assist Fury coach Stacey West on the sidelines.
The Flames, a newly formed expansion team, have plundered the stocks of the Falcons with five players coming from the VNL champion team – Maggie Lind, Emily Mannix, Liz Watson, Alice Teague-Neeld and Chloe Watson.
Megan Fitzpatrick was the only Lightning player named for the Flames.
The Australian Netball League will begin on July 6 and run for eight weeks, with the grand final scheduled for August 25.
