It’s certainly been a year to remember for the Penrith District Netball Association, which backed up last month’s Senior State Title win with two Junior State Titles on Monday afternoon.
Competing at the 2019 Junior State Titles at Baulkham Hills, Penrith entered teams in the U12, U13 and U14 Championship Division.
While Penrith’s U14s team tried their best but were ultimately outclassed finishing 15th, it was the local association’s U12s and U13s teams that really made a splash during what was a rather wet weekend for netball.
Penrith’s U13s side lost just one game on their way to back to back titles, while their U12s team were crowned champions on a countback.
Speaking with the Weekender, Penrith District Netball Association President Joy Gillett said Monday’s double state title win was history in the making for the local club.
“It was unbelievable, we’ve certainly never had that happen before,” she said proudly.
“We expected a good result from our U13s because they were the team that won it last year. We had big hopes they would do well again and they ended up finishing first on points.
“We also had high hopes for our U12s team because they were winning at carnivals in the lead-up. The U12s tied with Wyong on points but won on a countback. They were also tied with them for the amount of goals scored (358) but our side had a better defensive record than Wyong across the competition.”
It’s been a huge year for Penrith, which just last month took out the U17 Division 1 title at the Senior State Titles.
Gillett said the future is bright for the association’s talented netballers and coaches.
“Monday’s double triumph is so good for Penrith’s future,” she said.
“Plus along with the team that won a month ago at the Senior State Titles, we’ve had a really great year so far in Penrith.
“I don’t know if other associations have enjoyed double victories in the past but we never have before and we’re totally stoked.”
More than 2000 players, representing 232 teams from 85 associations across NSW took part in the big three-day event, formerly known as the Netball NSW State Age Championships.
Baulkham Hills hosted the Championship Division and Division 2 tournaments, while Penrith hosted Divisions 3 and 4 at Jamison Park.
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender’s Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.
