General News
22 May, 2019
Defender lapping up Hampden role
TERANG Mortlake netballer Emma Lucas admits she is loving being in familiar surroundings after rejoining the club ahead of this season.
TERANG Mortlake netballer Emma Lucas admits she is loving being in familiar surroundings after rejoining the club ahead of this season.
The 21 year-old has been a key member of the Bloods’ defence so far this year having spent the past two years lining up for Kolora Noorat in the Warrnambool and District league.
Lucas revealed she returned to fulfil a desire to play at a higher level and said she could not be happier with her decision following the Bloods’ 3-2 start.
“I went out to the Power for two years at the start of university but I just thought if I was to keep coming back home then why not have a crack at Hampden again,” Lucas said.
“I’m really loving it (being back), we’re going great which is helping the situation and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the year.”
So far things have been going well for both Lucas and her team, with the defender featuring in the best players four times over the first five games.
She has returned to her customary role at the back end after previously playing in attack and through the mid-court at the Power and has formed a strong association in the goal circle with Brooke Hoare.
“All my juniors I played as a defender but when I went out to the Power I had stints in other positions,” Lucas said.
“I’m probably naturally a defender though, so I’m really enjoying being back in defence and everything is coming along nicely (with Brooke).”
Lucas downplayed her own form as only “alright” so far, but added she was happy to be part of a team that was clicking in multiple ways.
She said the players were all working hard to improve themselves and each other and in turn were enjoying the vibe their results had created around the club.
“I’ve had the last couple of weeks off training because of placement but it’s good to be a part of a team that has the same fitness levels and we all bounce off each other which is good,” she said.
“It’s been great so far but we always knew we kind of had the potential to go well, so to get a couple of wins already has been good and I think we’ve already had more wins than last season (which is positive).
“Everyone is just excited to have a go and everyone is getting around the netball teams going well so it’s a good place to be around at the moment.”
The Bloods are preparing for a crunch game with South Warrnambool at Terang this weekend, with the two sides set to fight out for fourth position on the ladder.
Lucas said her side was keen to get another victory on the board, but added regardless of the result, the Bloods would find out more about where they sit against the competition’s stronger sides.
“We haven’t spoken about it much because we had the bye last week but Lisa will no doubt have some plans for us,” she said.
“This week will probably give us more of an idea of where we are at but it would be fantastic to have a win.”