Tara Murray
Continued development is the focus for the Northern Knights in the last few rounds of the NAB League Girls season.
It’s been a young Knights unit this season, with the side winning their most recent game by one point.
Knights coach Leigh Clarke said admits the win, was their worst performance of the year.
The club had a bye last weekend.
“There’s only two rounds to go and the repechage round,” he said. “It’s an extra round while finals are on, but we don’t know how that will work.
“We know how we want to be playing. We’ve been focused on growth, but it is more fun when you are winning.”
Clarke said the squad this season was a young one with many of the girls to be in the program for the next couple of years.
“We are 1-5 but we are really young,” he said.
“The balance of the list has been really balanced and that is something we have strived for. Some of the 19s will play VFLW and that is a organic move.
“Then some of these girls still have three years in the program. We’ve debuted up to 24 girls this season in just six games. There’s a big investment in young.”
While the Knights are a young squad, they have four players in the Vic Metro squad.
Lulu Beatty, Ava Jordan, Brooke Plummer and Rylie Wilcox are all in the squad, which will take on the best players from across the country at the national championships.
Clarke said for the back end of the season and despite missing finals, there was still a lot that could be taken out of the season.
“Development is our mindset,” he said. “We want to keeping on doing what we have been doing.”
It’s a busy time for Clarke and the coaching staff with the boys season kicking off later this month.
Clarke said they had been working with 160 players across three programs currently.
The boys squad is set to be finalised in the coming weeks.
With COVID-19 the last couple of years, the Knights’ boy’s squad would contain plenty of new faces.
“We’re going in a bit lighter than have a bulk of numbers,” Clarke said.
“There’s plenty of talent that we have not seen. We had six to eight boys trial the last three weeks.
“There will be players who play really well at school and local footy that will get their chances later on.
Darcy Edmends and Dane Harvey are both in the initial Vic Metro squad for the boys.
