Experienced mentor Di Hanslow will guide her charges in a bid to claim a historic three-straight Open titles come Sunday’s tournament at the State Netball Centre.
Hanslow has been forced to make a squad change from her outfit that claimed interleague honours over rival Ovens and Murray League last month.
Echuca gun and league stalwart Steph Vick will return to the representative line-up after she missed the interleague clash, while Rochester superstar goaler Teal Hocking is unavailable for selection.
Seymour playing coach Ellie Fuhrmeister (nee O’Sullivan) is in, while Mooroopna defender Ella Ogier is back from injury.
Vick, the captain of last year’s title-winning squad, is tipped to be given the captaincy once again on Sunday after recovering from a calf injury earlier this season.
The multiple time GVL A-grade premiership player and dual Wellman medallist said she was looking forward to taking on the best and defending the GVL’s crown.
“It’s always one of the toughest days down there,” she said of the Association Championships.
“It takes a few games to gel as a team ... it’s very different to GVL netball because you have to perform right from the get-go and you can’t afford to drop matches.
“You can’t perform badly, it’s not as forgiving as playing one bad week for your club and getting the chance to work on a few things and come back next week, you need to be on from the start.
“I love playing in these matches and representing the league, it’s always a privilege to be captain and I love seeing the juniors come through and playing well.”
GVL Open squad
Steph Vick, Sheridan Townrow, Ash Mangan (Echuca), Hollie Reid (Kyabram), Asha Gray, Ella Ogier, Caitlin McLachlan (Mooroopna), Ellie Fuhrmeister (Seymour) Sophie Garner (Shepparton Swans), Molly Kennedy, Jasmin Fraser (Tatura).
Coach: Di Hanslow
Although Vick, Molly Kennedy and Ella Ogier are the only faces returning from last year’s squad, the talented midcourter backed in Hanslow’s assembled cast.
“We have got some outs from last year ... but there’s so much depth in the league and you see these younger ones come through and they just rise to the occasion,” Vick said.
“It’s nice to have Di return; she’s such an incredible coach and we go back to our Kyabram days, so I’m really looking forward to this weekend.”
The Open netball squad won’t be the only GVL representative heading to Melbourne, with the 15-and-under and 17-and-under outfits set to rub shoulders against the best in the state.
Before the GVL starts its bid for a three-peat at the association champs, players will fine-tune their skills on Saturday in round nine A-grade action.
The feature game of the weekend is the clash at Kings Park between Seymour and Echuca.
The Murray Bombers enter the away match off the back of a resounding upset win over previously unbeaten outfit Mooroopna.
The Lions will be looking to bounce back after suffering a surprise loss to Tatura last weekend.
Before they join up as teammates on Sunday, Sheridan Townrow and Sarah Szczykulski will duke it out in a match-up worth the price of admission alone.
Elsewhere, Euroa heads in as favourite in its home clash against Mooroopna.
The Cats showed a glimpse of vulnerability to Echuca last week and Ellie Warnock’s outfit will be eager to widen its gap at the top of the ladder with a win.
Tatura gets a chance to entrench its spot inside the top-four and pick up another big scalp with a home match to Shepparton.
The duel between Tatura defender Jasmine Fraser and Bears goaler Jane Cook will play a decisive role in the overall outcome of the match.
Mansfield is presented with an opportunity to claim its first win of the campaign with a home match against Kyabram, while Shepparton Swans should take care of Benalla at home.
Rochester and Shepparton United meet at Deakin Reserve to round out an enthralling weekend of A-grade matches.
