BELMONT’S mission to feature in the 2025 Geelong & District Netball League (GDNL) finals has already begun, with the Lions unveiling its new A and B Grade coach.<\/p>\n
The Lions unveiled former Corio playing coach Shayna Brown as its new coach earlier this month, and Brown is excited to bring her leadership to Winter Reserve.<\/p>\n
“I think I had kind of done my job in Corio, I think I have left the club in a better position than when I found it and I just thought it was time for a change,” she said.<\/p>\n
“I was prepared to move down to South Barwon just to play, but then I saw a few clubs were advertising for coaches and through my connections I was able to have some conversations with those clubs.<\/p>\n
“Belmont is such an exciting club at the moment and they’re definitely on the up right now, so it’ll be great to be a part of that moving forward.”<\/p>\n
Brown is a well-respected member of the Corio community, playing as a Devil for the past seven years.<\/p>\n
She was also weighing up positions at Bannockburn and Thomson, but Belmont is also closer to her residence in Highton, which played a factor in the final decision.<\/p>\n
“Kirsty Duynhoven and Caitlin Lamont were great helps throughout the conversations as well,” Brown said.<\/p>\n
“I do naturally tend to provide a bit of a leadership role with the other netball coaches, and I always enjoy coaching the juniors, typically at the Under 13 level, as that’s where the foundations of a club’s netball program begin.”<\/p>\n
Belmont shook up the GDNL A-Grade ladder in 2024, earning a 12-win and six-loss record in the home and away season to claim a top-four finish and make the finals for the first time since 2002.<\/p>\n
Brown said that with some added depth and senior additions to the rotation, the Lions could be a key player in the finals picture again next season.<\/p>\n
“From what I saw, it seemed Belmont did seem very set in their seven, which doesn’t work on a week-by-week basis if you’re going to make a deep finals run.<\/p>\n
“Change can be tough for any club, but with the right pieces and a good pre-season from the girls, I believe this club can compete for a premiership.”<\/p>\n
Belmont thanked outgoing coach Anthony Burton for his contributions to the club.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BELMONT’S mission to feature in the 2025 Geelong & District Netball League (GDNL) finals has already begun, with the Lions unveiling its new A and B Grade coach. The Lions unveiled former Corio playing coach Shayna Brown as its new coach earlier this month, and Brown is excited to bring her leadership to Winter Reserve. […]<\/p>\n