Gippsland Storm netballers (back) Danielle Milner, Jessica Ayres, Megan Ellett, Ashley Lawry, Toni Dart, Barb Milner, coach Simon O’Shanassy, (front) Jessica Hancock, Skye Huggett and Nikki Mirams.GIPPSLAND Storm’s under17 netball side came away from the recent Echuca tournament with the spoils after winning a onesided grand final by 10 goals.
With regular players unavailable, only eight players travelled to Echuca and were rewarded with the grand final trophies.
Playing two sevenminute games against nineer teams from Echuca, Mildura, Bendigo, North Central and Heathcote, the Storm lost only one game to the Echuca team, but superior play over the day’s matches ensured some onesided victories.
Toni Dart proved her versatility by changing from defence to goals for the day and doing an exceptional job, Jess Hancock came up from under17 (2) grade and proved her worth at wing attack and recruit Megan Ellett slotted in nicely, forming a formidable defence with Ashlea Lawry and Nikki Mirams.
Skye Huggett and Danielle Milner did an excellent job running the centre court for a majority of the day due to player shortages and were exhausted after the grand final.
Regular goaler Jess Ayres lifted during the day to fill the holes left by the absence of regular goalers and her hard work culminated in a bestoncourt performance in the grand final.
A good weekend was enjoyed by the squad, staying over night in Echuca.
The side backed up with a great win against Waverley Districts on Monday night at Waverley and hold top spot.
