MCC Netball midcourter Lexie Joyce has taken home the Heather Dawkins Medal as the Club’s Most Valuable Player, as the Section brought the curtain down on the 2021 season and celebrated its 10-year anniversary.
MCC Netball’s Club Captain Joyce capped off a fantastic season, which included leading the Club to its first Premier Division 1 premiership in the Parkville Autumn Competition and gaining selection in MCC Netball’s Premier Division Team of the Decade.In a 10-year tribute video played at MCC Netball’s Presentation Dinner held at the MCG on Saturday night, Joyce pointed to the balanced culture of the Club as one of its major successes.
“We play, and it’s serious and it’s competitive and we train…but we also have that fun element to it as well,” Ms Joyce said.
“We have our events at the football or our Presentation Night, or just catching up for team dinners.
“The Club is a really great balance between serious netball and really competitive, but it’s still fun and we can all socialise together.”
Joining Joyce as MVP award winners across the MCC Netball’s five teams were Emma Draffin (MCC2), Eliza Ward (MCC3), Elly Thorne (MCC4) and Lucy O’Shannesy (MCC5).
Ali Huddleston from the MCC5 team took out the Players’ Player Award for 2021, while the Phoebe McWilliams Best Club Person Award went to Cassy Cayzer.
The 10-year milestone offered the section the chance to award their first Teams of the Decade, this year selecting twenty players across the Tuesday Premier Division and Monday Open Division competitions they have competed in across the journey.
It bookends a successful year for the Section, despite watching the Melbourne lockdowns eliminate around 18 months of competitive netball over the last two years. MCC Netball claimed two premierships in 2021, highlighting a year that saw all but one team make the finals, and three of the five teams play off in a grand final.
Open Division Team of the Decade inductee and MCC Netball Section Chair, Betty Plunkett said the milestone was an exciting time for the Section, which initially started out as an MCC Special Interest Group.
“This year in particular, to be able to pause and look back on where we’ve come from and how the club has grown is really exciting,” Ms Plunkett said.
“Although we’ve got five teams in really high divisions, we do have a breadth of talent and so continuing to develop our younger players and to be able to feed into our top teams is something that we’re going to look to consolidate.
“We are a group of people from all different areas of life but we’ve got this passion in netball. This season and this Club has been brilliant.”
MCC NETBALL SECTION – 2021 AWARD WINNERS
MCC1
Heather Dawkins Medal: Lexie JoyceCoaches Award: Amelia Charlton
MCC2
MVP: Emma DraffinCoaches Award: Jess Sewell
MCC3
Heather Dawkins Medal: Eliza WardCoaches Award: Caitlin Baker
MCC4
MVP: Elly ThorneCoaches Award: Ella Ricardo
MCC5
MVP: Lucy O’ShannesyCoaches Award: Rebecca Plunkett
MCC NETBALL PLAYERS’ PLAYER
Ali Huddleston (MCC5)PHOEBE McWILLIAMS BEST CLUB PERSON AWARD
Cassy CayzerMCC NETBALL TEAM OF THE DECADE
PREMIER DIVISION
Goalers: Alex Ball, Jen Barrett, Tori WalkerMidcourters: Bridget Lodge, Emily Turk, Laura Flanagan, Lexie Joyce
Defenders: Emily Findeisen, Jess Sewell, Renee Johns
OPEN DIVISION
Goalers: Geri Ryan, Jayde Grisdale, Linden ClarkeMidcourters: Betty Plunkett, Claire Sherwill, Sarah Tanner, Shelley White
Defenders: Ella Ricardo, Felicity Ryan, Sharyn Casey
Banner Image: Lexie Joyce takes out the Heather Dawkins Medal for the 2021 season. Photo Credit – Grant Treeby