Lakers give new coach a dream start

LAKE Wendouree has fired an early warning shot at its BFNL rivals, scoring a key first-up win in a battle between two of last year’s finalists last Saturday.

The Lakers gave new coach Meg Porter a dream start to her tenure at C.E. Brown Reserve with a stirring 48–31 victory over Redan.

The 17-goal margin was in stark contrast to that when the teams last met in the first weeks of finals last season.

Lake Wendouree emerged victorious in that game by a lone goal.

A tight contest again loomed when just two goals separated the teams at quarter-time, before the Lakers seized the momentum with a 15–8 second quarter to set up a nine-goal half-time lead.

After honours were shared in a 9–9 third term, a fired-up Lakers saved their best for last in a 13–5 final term to cap a stirring opening to their 2026 campaign.

Porter admitted to being wary of the challenge posed by a highly-rated Redan, which beat the Lakers twice during the home and away season last year.

“Everyone is in their own little training bubble and we all think we’re going OK, but you never really know until you get out there,” she said.

“We’ve always had a good tussle with Redan in recent times.

“Pleasingly the girls started strong and they finished strong.

“While they were able to build up a bit of a lead, it always felt like they (Redan) were always still there.

“I never felt comfortable enough, but in the last quarter they were able to build the lead up.

“The girls were awesome – they were patient, they were steady. Having Emma (Hawker) who is new and Rosie (Todd) who is back … they haven’t played together before, but they did well.”

Bella Clark set the tone with a big game in centre, while Kate Drew was outstanding in defence.

The Lakers were well-balanced in attack with the goals almost equally shared between Ebony Porter (25 at 76 per cent) and Addi Funcke (23 at 64 per cent).

The bulk of the Lions’ goals came from Eva Manserra (21 at 78 per cent).

Porter said her side would take plenty of confidence into this Saturday’s clash against Melton, which is coming off a loss to Bacchus Marsh.

In a major boost to their playing stocks, they will regain star midcourter Sadie Cheesman, who was unavailable against the Lions.

“There’s some little things we’ll need to work on … probably our throw-ins and bringing it down the court; sometimes we got a little stuck there,” Porter said.

“There were some ugly bits of play, which is to be expected in the first game, but there were plenty of good bits.

“Overall, I’m really happy with the outcome.

“I honestly believe every single team is going to be tough this year; every team has picked players.

“It will be very even, so wins early are important.”

Redan will aim to bounce back against a similarly rebounding Sunbury, which will be bolstered by several inclusions to the side thatwas beaten 70–37 by reigning premier Darley.