A final-round match-up with South Brisbane Wildcats delivered mixed results but there’s still lots to be optimistic about.
How it unfolded
Ruby
The Bull Sharks led comfortably at every change and streaked away late to claim a comprehensive 26-goal win.
Despite the healthy percentage boost, other results didn’t fall Bond’s way, so they finish their 2023 campaign one win shy of a finals berth in fifth place overall with an 8-6 win/loss record.
Bond’s Ruby season was a case of ‘almost, but not quite.’
The Bull Sharks will no doubt look back on a couple of missed opportunities against teams that finished above them on the ladder and wonder what might have been, but the squad is young and will have learned plenty from what has been a solid campaign against some seriously capable opposition.
Kim Boland, Ruby coach and Bond Head of Netball Operations, said she was pleased with her group’s efforts.
“I couldn’t be prouder of this young team,” she said.
“We fought hard right until the end and finished the last game beautifully.
“Although we fell short of a top-four spot, we take away from this season that we challenged and beat teams that are in the finals. The team as a whole has really grown and developed, and we look forward to what our 2024 season will bring.”
Sapphire
Inconsistency in the game’s middle section again proved fatal for the Sapphire team.
The Bull Sharks let a two-goal deficit at the first break drift out to nine by three quarter time, and although they did well to haul things back to two goals with a late flurry it was always an uphill slog.
Still, despite the natural disappointment that comes with finishing the year with just two wins in their comeback season, the work-in-progress Bull Sharks should take heart. The fact is they lost by eight goals or less six times, and three of those games were decided by fewer than three goals. Bond were in the hunt most weeks and were rarely easy to play against.
No doubt the 2023 experience will breed the kind of confidence and belief that will make crucial contests at critical moments easier to win in seasons to follow.
Head Coach Bec Stower touched on this after the game.
“While our position on the ladder is disappointing, it doesn't reflect the way we came together as a unit off-court which really started to coincide with momentum that we gained many times on-court,” she said.
“The Sapphire group were hard-working, motivated and committed and that in itself will set us up to take 2024 on from the get-go.”
Special mention should be made of in-form Ruby attacker Abby Boland made her Bull Sharks Sapphire-level debut against the Wildcats. Boland looked assured when she took to the court in the game’s latter stages and landed a couple of nice shots to end her impressive season on a high.
What now for Bond Bull Sharks netball?
In a word: plenty!
Bond University Bull Sharks U16 and U18 squads have been selected. Both squads now enter an intensive training window before competing at the Netball Queensland State Titles in September. The State Titles offers emerging athletes an opportunity to be chosen for Queensland U17 and U19 squads that compete at the National Championships in 2024. Bond Bull Sharks
Bond Sapphire Head Coach Bec Stower mentored Queensland U17s to a national title earlier this year.
Also, Bond’s Development Squad has finished equal second in the first round of the Elite Premier League. The next phase of the competition sees the top four sides duke it out for the remainder of the season. The Bull Sharks began their second-round campaign with a gritty win against Hinterland District Netball Association last Friday night.
And there’ll be a keen eye on the Bull Sharks of the future with an Emerging Cubs Development Squad to be put through its paces in August. Squad members are all under 16 years of age and were hand-picked based upon their performance at a Cubs skill development program earlier this year.