NOT too many hands would have gone up before the grand final had City West Falcons coach Marg Lind asked for a volunteer to mark Peninsula Waves goal shooter Mwayi Kumwenda – the pre-eminent Victorian Netball League player in her position with a long wing span, a jack-in-the-box leap and a dead eye for goal.
But you get the feeling Emily Mannix may have raised both hands for the assignment, such is her enthusiasm to play the sport that compels her and her parents to drive an hour and a half from St Leonard’s on the Bellarine Peninsula, four times a week for Falcons’ training and games.
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Mannix, 19, is playing her first full season in the championship and yet was entrusted with the biggest task in the grand final, trying to nullify Kumwenda.
It tells you how highly rated Mannix is at the Falcons and the reason she also plies her trade with the Victorian Flames in the Australian Netball League.
Kumwenda was restricted to 32 goals on 35 shots, an average night for a player of her stature.
“I thought she did as much as she could on a really talented player,” Lind told the Weekly.
“[Kumwenda] is a top player, very difficult to compete on, a great athlete, so I was really proud of Emily to do that sort of job.”
There’s no doubt Mannix’s tactics eventually broke Kumwenda.
She was nibbling at Kumwenda all night, nudging her at every opportunity, jostling for position and getting in her line of sight.
When Mannix was under the pump, Casey Price was willing to help out with a double team.
Mannix was apprehensive going into the game, knowing how important her role would be to the team’s success and the big stage.
“I was nervous at the start,” she told the Weekly. “I just sort of tried to keep calm and have a good start and I think I did that.
“I’ve played on her a couple of times now and I think I just have to get into her mind early.”
You couldn’t wipe the smile off Mannix’s face when she leapt into the grandstand to be with her family.
It meant a lot to her because she would not have been in that moment without the support of her parents and grandparents.
“It was absolutely crazy,” she said of the post-game celebrations. “I didn’t know what to do, I was just jumping on the spot. It’s a good feeling.”
Mannix, an Australian under-19 representative, dreams of playing for Melbourne Vixens in the trans-Tasman ANZ championship and for the Australian Diamonds.
“I’m taking it step by step, but obviously you have to have goals,” she said. “I’m trying to improve in as many areas as I can.”
