Stepping in netball is often punished by an umpire’s whistle, but Tatura is looking to venture further than before in 2025.
Following consecutive years of premature finals exits, the brave Bulldogs want to buck the ‘early-out’ tag and be one of the last teams standing in September.
With that shift in ambition comes a change in personnel.
Elsie Boyer remains as co-coach with Kobi Worner-Ismail, who is elevated to the post from B-grade as Steph Smith-Gorrie steps aside from A-grade mentorship.
On the playing front, Tatura has lost midcourt dynamo Emma Quinn to Kyabram and defender Molly Kennedy to Shepparton but has reeled in reigning Sandra Cox Medallist Ella Kightly from Shepparton United and mid-defender Zoe Hayes from Lancaster.
Boyer, knowing what’s required to make the Bulldogs’ finals aspirations a reality, isn’t backing down from the challenge.
“It was really disappointing, our finish at the end of last year - I know there were some sore hearts after the loss,” she said.
“I think we had really high expectations for ourselves and we didn’t really get to where we wanted to get to but that has only added fuel to the fire.
“It’s also creating some depth into our club that will hopefully allow us to push not only A-grade but also some other grades into finals which is really exciting.”
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