SMA was proud to partner with Netball Victoria and the City of Greater Bendigo to attract the Bound4Bendigo pre-season netball weekend with crowds of over 3,000 fans attending each day.

The spectators at Red Energy Arena witnessed five exciting on-court contests from a Victorian Men’s League exhibition match to clashes between the Vixens, Adelaide Thunderbirds, GIANTS Netball and Sunshine Coast Lightning. Local clubs and associations gained fresh insight into coaching and umpiring practices from detailed post-match analysis with senior umpires and Vixens Assistant Coach, Di Honey.
 
The Roadshow at Golden City Netball Association was an opportunity for netball fans to meet Kiera Austin, Kate Eddy, Emily Mannix, Hannah Mundy and Olivia Lewis, who joined in with junior clinics and gave insight into life as an elite netballer in a Q&A. The Bendigo crowd also got a taste of men’s netball when the Victorian Men’s Reserve side put on a fierce display in the curtain raiser, demonstrating their pace and aerial skill to defeat the exciting 23/Under team in a 40-minute exhibition match (43-25).
 
Head coach Simone McKinnis said the squad had a great experience visiting Bendigo. “We’ve loved it, it’s been a few years since we’ve played here – it’s a great crowd to play in front of and it’s been a really enjoyable weekend,” she said.

Photo: Final results were Vic Men’s Reserve (43) def 23/Under (25), GIANTS (58) def by Thunderbirds (59), Vixens (55) def by Lightning (66), Thunderbirds (60) def by Lightning (69), Vixens (74) def GIANTS (51).