CASEY Demons will be part of the Bupa Victorian Netball League.
Netball Victoria has announced the 10 clubs who have received licenses to play in the VNL.
As the premier netball competition in Victoria, each application was assessed by an independent selection panel as well as Netball Victoria’s general manager – high performance.
All applications were carefully considered by the panel, aligning with certain criteria as outlined by Netball Victoria.
The successful license holders for the 2019-2023 competitions are:
- Boroondara Express
- City West Falcons
- Casey Demons (new in 2019)
- DC North East Blaze
- Geelong Cougars
- Hawks Netball
- Melbourne University Lightning
- Peninsula Waves
- Wilson Storage Saints
- VCNA Ariels
General manager of football operations Josh Mahoney said it was a fantastic moment for Casey Demons.
“We congratulate Casey Demons president Rebekah Bogos, the Casey netball board and the Casey netball community for winning the newly awarded 10th licence in the VNL in 2019,” he said.
“Now with VNL, VFL and VFLW Casey Demons teams all represented within the City of Casey, it is becoming an elite sporting precinct. Coupled with established junior programs, young boys and girls in the region are presented with some clear pathways in their sport of choice, whether it is football or netball.
“We look forward to looking at ways of integrating both of our programs to ensure that our players and coaches are provided with the best programs available.
“Congratulations also to Robynn Pym, for being appointed as the inaugural coach. Recently our VFL Casey Demons coach Jade Rawlings was awarded the coach of the year in the VFL. Jade is very passionate about coaching and improving the program and Robynn will be a great resource for our coaches with her coaching experience.”
Netball Victoria Chief Executive Officer Rosie King congratulated the successful applicants.
“We are pleased to accept the applications of nine current clubs and look forward to welcoming the Casey Demons to the league in 2019,” she said.
Rosie said the strength of the competition is imperative in the high-performance pathways.
“The Bupa VNL aims to be the strongest state league competition in Australia and is an integral piece of the Netball Victoria athlete, coach and officials’ pathways. Our Zone Academy continues to provide access to talent development for players and coaches. A new operating model for the Zone Academy program is about to be launched to further drive development outcomes within the program and in the associations,” she said.
“The success and importance of the league is evident in Suncorp Super Netball, arguably the world’s best domestic competition, with 18 Victorian athletes, nine Victorian training partners, 11 Victorian coaches and five umpires participating in the 2018 season.”
