Vickers out of Ballarat Pride clash

By Melanie Whelan
Updated November 2 2012 - 4:39pm, first published May 24 2011 - 1:20pm
Kathryn Vickers
Kathryn Vickers

BALLARAT Pride’s championship division goaling depth will be challenged tonight with the late withdrawal of key tall Kathryn Vickers.The starting shooter was forced to pull out due to unexpected family commitments.Fellow goaler Laura Bell has been recovering from the flu, which sidelined her from Victorian Netball League action last week.Ballarat coach Jo Dash was confident Bell would play, having completed most of a training session on Sunday and with a couple of extra days to recover.Promoted attacker Amy Caldow will get another chance under the ring after impressing against top four rival Monash University last week.Caldow’s speed and sharp feeds proved pivotal and will again be vital against a towering Hume City defence tonight.“I’m confident Amy can do that again for us,” Dash said.“She filled in for us in a practice match against Hume and played really well then.”Dash was also looking to call on former players, like experienced goaler Emma Farrell, to offer bench support Pride captain Johanna Dash has also been cleared to play after suffering a knock above her elbow in netball on Saturday.There is a renewed confidence in the Pride camp this week after showing improvement in its first VNL rematch last week.But the bar has been raised tonight.Pride’s challenge is traditional powerhouse Hume City which, just outside the four, is fighting to scrape back into finals contention.The Falcons are likely to sport Melbourne Vixens goaler Tegan Caldwell, whose ANZ Championship commitments are complete.Circle defenders Olivia Hobbs and Ingrid Hopkins have been focused on their attacking flair off their players and quick recovery to defence.They have specifically worked on footwork and legal holds to boost confidence to hunt the ball and frustrate opposition feeders.The Falcons are known for towering players at both ends of the court with a strong, bigger-bodied centre-court.Dash said all her team could do was focus on controllables.“We need to concentrate on what we’re good at – our team is skilled, athletic and has beautiful passages of play,” Dash said.“Our team just gets out-muscled, which is how netball is going now.“We can only work with what we’ve got this season and our processes on how we’re going to improve each week.”

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

$0/

(min cost $0)

or signup to continue reading

See subscription options

Get the latest Ballarat news in your inbox

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.

We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy.