Benalla continues to show plenty of resolve in the Goulburn Valley League A grade netball competition, proving valiant yet again in defeat against reigning premier Shepparton at the weekend.

The 2026 campaign has been centred around development for the Saints, who continue to scrap hard against the more experienced sides in the competition such as the Bears, and while they ultimately fell 23-72 on the road at Deakin Reserve on Saturday, it wasn’t for a lack of effort.

With the Bears heading into the clash needing a win to keep their season alive, the Saints proved plucky especially in the first term, scoring the opening two goals of the contest and fighting back after Shepparton went on a six-goal run, getting back to within one goal of the lead and keeping the margin tight by quarter time, trailing 8-11 after what was a superb start to the contest.

Unfortunately for the Saints, however, the class and experience of the Bears began to take hold in the second term, and while Benalla tried to maintain the intensity, the likes of shooter Kim Borger, who suited up as a replacement player for the Melbourne Vixens this season, and young gun Mackenzie O’Dwyer began to exert their influence.

The Saints went into the half time huddle down 16-34, and while the second half saw the margin continue to climb, the endeavour never wavered, with the visitors fighting until the final whistle.

Benalla will enjoy a week off to reset before a big fortnight to finish the season, with clashes against Tatura at home and Shepparton Swans on the road to close out the year.

Across the grades, the Saints’ B grade side also suffered a loss, going down 22-56, while the B Reserve side narrowly fell 33-38 to now sit just two premiership points clear of the seventh-placed Bears in sixth with two rounds remaining.

Matches against eighth-placed Tatura and fourth-placed Shepp Swans across the final fortnight will be critical in the Saints’ hopes of securing a finals position.

In the junior grades, both the under-17 and under-15 Saints suffered losses at the weekend, going down 30-56 and 16-29, respectively.

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Saturday, 23rd December 2028

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