A GROUP of Beaconsfield and ROC netballers played a starring role in a David and Goliath struggle at a recent netball tournament, and almost won the ultimate prize.
The Eagle Roccas, a collection of under-13 netballers from the two clubs who entered into the City of Whitehorse Tournament, shocked the representative netball crowd by blitzing their way through to the grand final.
The team was playing against representative sides from some of the powerhouse associations, but defied their underdog status to secure a berth against a Waverley side in the grand final.
The Eagle Roccas went down in the decider, but nonetheless made their mark on the competition.
“The girls were pretty rapt, going through the whole day undefeated; they didn’t appreciate how well they’d done, getting to the grand final,” co-team manager Louisa Vincent said. “ … these are association teams who have divisions one, two and three; they’re taking 10 girls a side, and we went through with eight.”
The story of how the team came toget-her is even more remarkable.
ROC and Beaconsfield are the two powerhouse teams in their MPNFL league, and despite being fierce rivals on the court, the girls happily combined to form the Eagle Roccas for a summer competition.
– Stuart Teather
