North Ballarat goal shooter wins McLean medal

IT was a season of change for BFNL netball powerhouse North Ballarat in 2025, marked by some new faces and returning personnel – albeit not devoid of stability.

Among the constants was the brilliant control and composure under the post of goal shooter Maddy Selmon.

The 24-year-old’s numerous top-class performances and remarkable consistency were rewarded with her second Sally McLean Medal win as the BFNL’s A-grade best and fairest.

Selmon, who previously claimed the medal in 2019, polled 30 votes to finish three votes ahead of Sunbury midcourt ace Simona Di Filippo.

It was the same top two as last year, except in the reverse order, with Di Filippo coming up just short of a third straight McLean Medal win.

A Roosters teammate of Selmon, midcourter Brydi Hutchinson was third.

Selmon, who had Di Filippo and Hutchinson as her top medal picks before the count, said she was “totally surprised” but honoured to have won the league’s top individual award for a second time.

Despite it being her second win, and having finished top two in 2024, goal shooters have traditionally struggled to claim the medal.

 

“I’m always in goals, but the last time I won it I played a bit of goal attack,” Selmon said.

“I don’t like moving from goal shooter anymore.

“But it’s a real honour and privilege just to be playing among the girls in this league.”

Selmon’s second triumph has come at a time when the league is brimming with high-class shooters, among them 2025 grand final participants and Team of the Year honorees Rebecca Hicks and Olivia Cawthray.

The Roosters’ four-time premiership goaler found it difficult to make comparisons on the strength of her two McLean Medal-winning years.

“2019 was my second year in A-grade and I was still very fresh to the senior competition and to be honest I wasn’t very confident playing,” she said.

“I was just finding my feet in the A-grade world, which is very different to juniors.

“It’s a very tough and physical game, A-grade, so I was finding my feet.

“Now I am a lot more comfortable in A-grade.”

Her latest win came at the end of what Selmon termed an “evolving” year for the Roosters in which they transitioned through some changes in player personnel.

Despite some teething problems, it was nevertheless still a season to be proud about, with the Roosters making it through to the preliminary final against Darley before bowing out.

A week earlier in the second semi-final, they came within three goals of toppling Sunbury in what would have given them a direct passage into the big one.

“We had a few new people coming in this year and people coming back, so it was just getting into the rhythm of things,” Selmon said.

“We still had a pretty good finals campaign – I was very proud of the team.

“The semi was tough, but it wasn’t too bad.

“As a team we did really well, but we met our match.”

There are more changes ahead for the Roosters, who will enter 2026 with a new coach following the departure of five-time premiership mentor Annie McCartin, who coached her final game in the preliminary final.

They will be big shoes to fill, according to Selmon.

“She has been at North for around 13 years, which is such a long time, and she is such a big part of the club,” she said.

“Hopefully she can still stick around the club.

“It would be lovely seeing her there.”

Still well-stocked for top-end talent and with a year’s worth of experience under the belts of their fledgling A-graders like Emma Trigg, Milly Simpson and Georgia Bodey, Selmon is eager to see the Roosters go a step further next season.

“We need to go into next season re-set and continue focusing on having fun and working as a team together,” she said.

 

“It will be a different year, obviously, without Annie, and hard because we have had her for so long.

“We need to focus on supporting each other and sticking around for each other and being there.

“At the end of the day, it’s just netball and you want to go out there and have fun.

“We are not playing for Australia, so we just do our best.”