NETBALL FEATURE | Whiteacre a star on the rise

BY KIERAN ILES 
BENDIGO TIMES

IF HER 2025 Victorian Netball League season was any guide, Bendigo Strikers and Sandhurst’s rising star Harriett Whiteacre may have to get used to expecting the unexpected.

Things did not exactly go as planned for the fast-emerging defender, who recently turned 18 – but in a good way.

Selected as a training partner with the Strikers’ vastly improved 23-and-under team, Whiteacre started the season in the club’s VNL Reserves team.

She played the first four (of 14) games, before getting a call up to be a part of the bench for the Strikers’ 23-and-under season-opener against Peninsula Waves, having played in the VNL Reserves game earlier in the day.

It would be the last her VNL Reserves teammates would see of her in a game situation, with Whiteacre establishing herself as a 23s regular, playing all 18 games, plus the team’s final against Geelong Cougars.

Her stellar performances unquestionably caught the attention of state team selectors, with Whiteacre recently named in the top 25 athletes in her age group, putting her in contention for a spot in Victoria’s 19-and-under team at next year’s national championships.

It’s the second year in a row she has made the top 25 and been invited to take part in Netball Victoria’s Elevate high performance program.

The program provides athletes with targeted physical preparation before they’re again narrowed down to the teams of 12 to compete at nationals.

While her VNL season was done and dusted a month ago, Whiteacre admits she still has to pinch herself about her unanticipated elevation.

“I wasn’t expecting it, but it was great,” she said.

“To be honest, I thought I would do the full reserves season and as a 23s training partner, I’d train with them and hopefully pick a game here or there.

“Getting all the games I did under my belt was a definite surprise.”

Her pairing with Eliza Mooney, who went on to claim the Strikers’ best and fairest and was named in the VNL Team of the Year, quickly and seamlessly evolved into one of the league’s top defensive combinations.

“Eliza is just so good to play with – she dominates out there on court,” Whiteacre said.

“I learned heaps from her.

“I’d like to think we connected pretty well out there.”

Easily the highlight of the season was finals, with the Strikers finishing the season with 12 wins and a draw from 18 games, after just four wins from 22 games in their debut season in the VNL in 2024.

Whiteacre is not the only Strikers players to have made it into the top 25, with midcourter Mackenzie O’Dwyer, who represented Victoria this season and plays with Shepparton Bears in the Goulburn Valley league, also a chance to make the final 12.

Before state trials, Whiteacre will be chasing finals success with Sandhurst’s A-reserve team, in a year in which she also made her A-grade debut for the Dragons against Golden Square in round three at Wade Street.

The A-reserve Dragons advanced to a second semi-final showdown this Saturday against minor premier Kangaroo Flat, following a 48-41 win over Gisborne in last weekend’s qualifying final.

Whiteacre hailed Sandhurst as pivotal in her netball development and her first A-grade game as a special moment.

“It was so much quicker than A-res and all the other grades – and so much more physical,” said Whiteacre, who was the best on court medallist in the Dragons’17-and-under premiership win last year.

“It was so good to be out there. The standard was so high.

“Hopefully I can keep developing and get more time in A-grade.

“We (A-reserve) train against A-grade and you learn so much from all the girls, especially the defenders, Ruby (Turner), Sophie (Shoebridge) and Ollie (Heather Oliver).

“And then there’s Shae (Clifford) and Meg (Williams) in the midcourt.

“I’d like to think I slot into the squad quite nicely.”

It’s been an equally big year away from the netball court for Whiteacre, who is the final months of completing her VCE at Catherine McAuley College.

While juggling high-level sport and study can at times pose some challenges, Whiteacre would not trade a moment of her netball involvement.

“I’m gaining so much from it all; sometimes it seems like a bit much, but you learn to handle it and just have fun with it,” she said.

“At times it can get quite difficult with training and homework and school, but I’m happy with how it has all worked out though.”