ABC News | In the game of netball, wing defenders are the grafters; the unsung heroes of the team, who work tirelessly to help other players look good, rarely winning individual honours but making an impact with every action.
It's appropriate then that Rachel Torney – who this year took a team of netballers from her tiny Victorian town of Undera, population 545, from winless since mid-2019 to a string of victories in season 2023 – was a dynamite wing defence in her playing days.
The same dedication to team and tactical nous that saw Torney named in not one, but two "teams of the century" in regional Victoria, helped the side she coached, Undera Football Netball Club's A grade, to break an almost three-season drought and win not one, but five games.
A win that tastes like a premiership.
In scenes reminiscent of a grand final win, tears and champagne flowed after Torney's Lions – long considered the easy beats of the 14-team Kyabram District league – beat Longwood at Undera by a massive 45 goals this year.