ROC NC – 2021 Season in Review

ROC Netball Club had a great season in 2022, with all senior teams having an undefeated run across its nine games to finish on top of the ladder.

The women of Starling Road were the class act in Kärcher Division One, proving too strong for their opposition, while its junior teams showed they are part of the next generation of Kangaroos, with four of the sides finishing in the top five on their respective ladders.

The standout players of the club consisted of league best & fairest Samantha Neil, along with captain Zoe Callanan and young guns Keeley Burgmann and Dee Dee Deng who are touted as potential stars of the future in the netball landcape.

“Keeley and Dee Dee recently made the Australian 17 & Under squad for 2021/22 which is a massive achievement,” said club president Laura Quinn.

“I would assume they want to keep pushing further with their netball careers because they have a tremendous amount of talent.”

Other highlights for the club consisted of individual accolades awarded from AFL Outer East as part of its best and fairest count in which multiple players featured from ROC.

“Sarah Castricum and Alana Vallas took out the B and C grade leading goal shooters for the year while we also had Amy Jones, Rebecca Johnson and Shayla Dale take out best & fairest awards in B & C grade and 15 & Under,” Quinn said.

“These achievements indicate that our club has excelled across the board which is a real standout.

“But as a club and as individual teams, we have all achieved some pretty good results this year.”

With a winning pedigree and a hunger for success, the element of a strong culture exists right across the board at ROC which often sees senior players continuing to stick around the club long after they have played juniors, which indicates they still have the passion to play.

The structure and game plan in which the coaches work towards shows they can get the most out of their teams and take a lot of pride in being able to get the success for the club.

But in a year which has required dedication through an interrupted season, the committee and volunteer group have showed outstanding effort this year to ensure a smooth operation of the club.

“Our committee have been proactive this year, as soon as we were allowed to come back, they were keen to get everything in place,” Quinn said.

“Our parents who have had junior players have been really supportive and ensuring they follow the rules and volunteer wherever they can.

“The whole culture of the club is really positive in the fact that we really want to get our teams back on the court, and we have the people at the club who are willing to put that effort in to get it happening.”

Off the back of a strong and successful year, premierships are obviously a target for the Kangaroos in 2022 but are still hoping for other things to continue falling into place that will see continued growth and development across the club.

Simon O’Shanassy will continue as coach in 2022 while the club continues to formalise the process for the remainder of its coaching structure but expects many of them to return in some form.

“We want to keep developing our players because a lot of our senior squad is extremely young,” Quinn explained.

“We want to keep our juniors pushing forward and give them all the opportunity they can to improve.

“The aim is always to retain players but getting players to come and join us and strengthen the sides is also a goal for next year.”

Quinn wished to thank all the members of her club for a successful campaign in 2022 despite the challenges that COVID brought along.

“I would like to thank the committee and all our players and parents for all their hard work and dedication to the club during a difficult year,” she mentioned.

“It was an impressive year for us and I am really proud of how we went.”

NETBALL	LADDER POSITION	WINS	LOSSES	DRAW
Kärcher Division One A Grade	1st	9	0	–
Kärcher Division One B Grade	1st	9	0	–
Kärcher Division One C Grade	1st	8	0	–
Kärcher Division One D Grade	1st	9	0	–
Kärcher 17 & Under Blue	7th	1	7	–
Kärcher 15 & Under Blue	3rd	5	4	–
Kärcher 15 & Under White	4th	5	4	1
Kärcher 13 & Under Blue	2nd	9	0	–
Kärcher 13 & Under White	5th	3	5	–