Ready and willing: Bathurst's 17s up for the division one challenge

The Bathurst squad will have two major goals as they try to beat the odds and take down hosts Orange: Snare some upsets and continue developing their skills on the court.

Bathurst's under 12s coach Melissa Noonan will be the stand-in coach for the 17s over the weekend, with regular coach Trish Williams not able to attend.

Noonan said in her limited time with the team she's witnessed training been conducted with the right attitude.

"Trish is obviously the head coach of the team, and she was my mentor throughout my netball career and helped me get to where I am now," she said.

"She asked if I was free to take on the girls, and I'm also happy to help where I can. I've watched the girls train, and they've got plenty of intensity and are sticking to their core values.

"I know a couple of those are respect and training with intensity every week. They've been doing so well, and as a whole unit you can see the respect they have for one another.

"While they will be the babies of this weekend I'm sure that having that base to work off will help them grow as a team by the end of the weekend."

Bathurst's under 17s will face a pair of Orange teams and Mudgee over the course of the weekend.

Noonan said the Bathurst squad are an incredibly capable group who are sure to impress across the course of their six games.

"We might not win each and every game, and it's more about growing and developing their netball ahead of state titles," she said.

"We had a discussion about our expectations during training on Tuesday. They've got a lot of self belief, which is fantastic.

"They understand that it will be tough but they're prepared to fight for every ball, every pass and every goal.

"As long as it's competitive netball that's a win, and if by Sunday afternoon they've improved on any of their skills then that's a win."

It's been seven years since Bathurst achieved the seemingly impossible feat of taking down Orange in the Regional League grand final, ending the city's decades of dominance at the event.

Since then it's been a tough task for Bathurst to repeat that effort - made all the more difficult this year by being unable to field an open age team.

It's the second year running that Bathurst will field a 17s team in division one in place of a senior side.

The 2023 Bathurst under 17s performed well in the tournament and narrowly missed a spot in the grand final.

Noonan said that there were senior age players ready for Regional League but not enough to guarantee adequate depth.

"It just came down to numbers. A lot of girls coming through the previous 17s team moved away for uni and the depth wasn't there for the older players to form a team," she said.

"They were definitely a lot that were keen but not enough to field decent numbers. It's a taxing weekend of quality netball so to pull any kind of player in just wouldn't do it justice for the ones already there."

Matches at Orange PCYC get underway from 9am on Saturday.

BATHURST 17s: Chloe Boyce, Abbey Walker-Smith, Eliza Fox, Samantha Hanrahan, Lily Howard, Izabel Lee, Milla Nelson, Kate Proctor, Hollie Ruming, Stephanie Wilson, Teagan Campbell, Anthea Clark, Bronte Cullen-Ward