Netball team’s story has a happy ending

NORTHERN Suburbs Netball Club's Cadets side are celebrating " not just their first win of the season, also finally having a full side.

The team, which scored a stirring 32-23 win on Saturday, now has a full compliment of players are sisters Rachel and Shannon Maker joined recently.

Rachel and Shannon recently migrated to Mangerton from New Zealand and joined the team, which has been relying on fill-ins from younger grades to make up the numbers for the past few seasons.

Team trainer Tim Arkell said the injection of more talent into the team had made a difference.

"It has made an enormous difference " we'll be able to spell players which means they won't be as tired at the end of games," team trainer Tim Arkell said.

"After a quarter the girls are usually stuffed trying to cover two positions."

The team has struggled for the past few seasons in their Illawarra Junior Netball competition due to being shorthanded.

"We've been on the wrong end of some big scorelines, but the girls are full of courage," Arkell said.

"Hopefully having a full team will help us achieve some more encouraging results."

Arkell said the new combination showed a lot of promise and that the two new recruits "?knew how to win'.

"Once the girls develop a never say "?die' attitude we're going to be okay."

Arkell said the core group of seven girls, aged 15 and 16, had played together for the past five seasons and were used to playing short or relying on a temporary player as young as 11 or 12 years old.

"Now we're not used to training with so many players," he said.

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