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\u201cEliza is just so good to play with \u2013 she dominates out there on court,\u201d Whiteacre said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned heaps from her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to think we connected pretty well out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Easily the highlight of the season was finals, with the Strikers finishing the season with 12 wins and a draw from 18 games, after just four wins from 22 games in their debut season in the VNL in 2024.<\/p>\n
Whiteacre is not the only Strikers players to have made it into the top 25, with midcourter Mackenzie O\u2019Dwyer, who represented Victoria this season and plays with Shepparton Bears in the Goulburn Valley league, also a chance to make the final 12.<\/p>\n
Before state trials, Whiteacre will be chasing finals success with Sandhurst\u2019s A-reserve team, in a year in which she also made her A-grade debut for the Dragons against Golden Square in round three at Wade Street.<\/p>\n
The A-reserve Dragons advanced to a second semi-final showdown this Saturday against minor premier Kangaroo Flat, following a 48-41 win over Gisborne in last weekend\u2019s qualifying final.<\/p>\n
Whiteacre hailed Sandhurst as pivotal in her netball development and her first A-grade game as a special moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so much quicker than A-res and all the other grades \u2013 and so much more physical,\u201d said Whiteacre, who was the best on court medallist in the Dragons\u201917-and-under premiership win last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so good to be out there. The standard was so high.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully I can keep developing and get more time in A-grade.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe (A-reserve) train against A-grade and you learn so much from all the girls, especially the defenders, Ruby (Turner), Sophie (Shoebridge) and Ollie (Heather Oliver).<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then there\u2019s Shae (Clifford) and Meg (Williams) in the midcourt.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to think I slot into the squad quite nicely.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been an equally big year away from the netball court for Whiteacre, who is the final months of completing her VCE at Catherine McAuley College.<\/p>\n
While juggling high-level sport and study can at times pose some challenges, Whiteacre would not trade a moment of her netball involvement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m gaining so much from it all; sometimes it seems like a bit much, but you learn to handle it and just have fun with it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
“At times it can get quite difficult with training and homework and school, but I\u2019m happy with how it has all worked out though.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
IF her 2025 Victorian Netball League season was any guide, Bendigo Strikers and Sandhurst\u2019s rising star Harriett Whiteacre may have to get used to expecting the unexpected. Things did not exactly go as planned for the fast-emerging defender, who recently turned 18 \u2013 but in a good way. Selected as a training partner with the […]<\/p>\n