Cobden's Lara and Grace Taylor's drive to compete at Sunday's Netball Victoria Association Championship finals is spurred by the memory of a missed opportunity last year.
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The twin sisters, 17, were among the 17 and under team to qualify for the finals last year before the Melbourne-based event was cancelled due to COVID-19.
"We're really keen to get down and play, it should be a really good competition," Grace, a midcourter, said.
"The training has been really good and we're really starting to come together as a team."
The Mercy Regional College students helped the Hampden league to a 17 and under title at the Western Region Association Netball Championships last month, capped by a thrilling 14-13 grand final win against Ballarat Netball Association.
"We had a bit of a tough start but had some strong players who came through," Lara said of the final.
Lara, a defender, said the aim at the association championship finals was to win as many games as possible.
"There will be a few games that will be pretty tough," she said. "But I think we should go alright."
17 and under co-coach Nadine McNamara, who also coaches Lara and Grace at Cobden, said the sisters were "very committed and talented players".
"I've been able to watch them since under 12s. They're twins and look very similar but play very different styles of game," McNamara said. "Different positions and totally different approaches.
"Lars has a beautiful vertical leap and strong drives down transition, while Grace, she's quite a smart player and very efficient in her movements. Very rarely is she beaten in a one-on-one."
Along with the 17 and under team, Hampden league's 15 and under and 13 and under teams will also travel to Melbourne for the finals.
McNamara said it was amazing achievement by the league to have all three teams qualify.
"It's great to have these girls representing their league and great for them to get exposure," she said. "This is an opportunity for players to be identified and for us being remote from Melbourne, that can be quite difficult.
"It's a great chance for them to be viewed."
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Meg Saultry
Sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard, with a strong interest in Australian rules football, basketball and women in sport.
Sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard, with a strong interest in Australian rules football, basketball and women in sport.
