Peel Netball League players shine at awards night

Seven of the Peel region’s best senior netballers were presented with individual awards for their stunning seasons, while a further seven players in both reserves and league were named as all-stars.

Peel Netball League coordinator Jodi Dunlop said the season, which is the league’s second after joining with football, showed how far the league had come in a short span of time.

“We’re only two years into the conjuncture but you can already see how much the quality of the netball has improved,” she said.

“All clubs have strong league and reserves grade teams and it’s going to be even better moving forward.”

Dunlop herself was the big winner on the night, taking out the league MVP trophy for her prolific year with Rockingham ahead of Rachel Hogan-Esch who earned the runner-up award.

In the reserves, it was Madeline Pettit who claimed the MVP award with Lana Crowley named the season’s runner-up.

Daviniss Rere took out the leading goal scorer trophy for the league with an astonishing 473 goals for the Rams, while South Mandurah’s Jiah Thomas scored the most for the reserves.

Jayda Chase-Cottrell won the league’s rising star award.

Dunlop said the league provided better opportunities for senior netballers in the Peel region.

“Before we joined with the football clubs there weren’t a heap of avenues for girls to follow their netball after playing juniors,” she said.

“But now there is not only a league, but a high quality league for them to play in as they progress.

“It also brings a freshness to the football side of things and all clubs have really jumped on board.”

Peel Football Netball League general manager Geoff Hiller said the league had future plans to add a third division to the netball league, similar the football league’s colts division.

“The competition is still in its infancy stages but it’s shown plenty of promise and is going very strong so far,” he said.

“We’re hoping to install a third division in the league soon, which will hopefully make it even stronger and even more appealing for the spectators.”

Fourteen women were named as all-stars on the night.

Rebecca Flegg, Brianna McLennan, Renae McShane, Lisa Thompson, Madeline Pettit, Terina Walters and Lana Crowley were all picked as reserves all-stars while Rickie Gilbert, Imogen Lockyer, Mel Brown, Rachel Hogan-Esch, Renee Hardie, Daviniss Rere and Jodi Dunlop were the cream of the crop in the league division.​

The league now dives into its off-season, preparing for its third year over the summer.