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Ella Shannon, the sister of Melbourne Mavericks training partner and new Sunbury recruit Ruby, made her presence felt at wing attack and goal attack, as did young gun Ava Richardson.<\/p>\n
Keating said an early goal for the Swans was to build connections and momentum every single week.<\/p>\n
“I reckon teams will be surprised in the second half of the year because I think that’s when we will be at the top of our game,” she said.<\/p>\n
“We’ll try and build every week \u2026 this week was better than last week, although the scores didn’t reflect that.<\/p>\n
“The mood is still positive, the club culture here is amazing and all the talk is positive.”<\/p>\n
Keating is hoping to see more signs of development on Anzac Day against Lake Wendouree, which moved to 2-0 with a convincing 84-29 win over Melton, in which young guns Ebony Porter and Addy Funcke both finished with 30-plus goals and Demi Thompson chimed in with 20.<\/p>\n
In other games, reigning premier Darley joined Lake Wendouree, Sebastopol and North Ballarat on 2-0 with a win over East Point.<\/p>\n
Led by Sarah Mason with 30 goals, the Devils won 55-30.<\/p>\n
In a thriller at Maddingley Park, North Ballarat \u2013 without two-time league medallist Maddy Selmon \u2013 hung on to defeat Bacchus Marsh by two goals.<\/p>\n
The Cobras overcame a nine-goal quarter-time deficit to be almost on even terms at half-time and level at three-quarter-time.<\/p>\n
But the steadiness of the Roosters prevailed in the end, with midcourter Brydi Hutchinson instrumental in a 49-47 win.<\/p>\n
Sunbury, with a host of inclusions, bounced back from a round 1 loss to Darley to defeat Redan 62-37.<\/p>\n
Caitlin Hill led the Lions with 35 goals at 86 per cent, well complemented by Amalani Fauonuku (21 at 84 per cent).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FORGET the 0-2 win-loss record, Ballarat is showing significant positive signs in the early part of the 2026 BFNL season, marked by the development of their promising youth. Following a winless campaign last year and only two wins in 2024, the new-look Swans are eyeing plenty of improvement this season. While A-grade mentors Jane Keating […]<\/p>\n