Bendigo Strikers Intra-Club Showdown Headlines Local Netball Preparations

The Bendigo Strikers will play an intra-club showdown as the curtain-raiser for the inaugural standalone Suncorp Super Netball pre-season Derby between Melbourne Vixens and Melbourne Mavericks at Red Energy Arena in July 2026.

Netball Preparations Take Centre Stage

This intra-club fixture gives the Strikers an early opportunity to test combinations ahead of the Derby curtain-raiser at the local venue. The event places Bendigo at the centre of Super Netball pre-season activity for the first time as a standalone match.

Football Ladder Remains Tight

Sandhurst enters the 2025 Bendigo Bank Bendigo Football Netball League senior footy season as the reigning premier and the side every other club must measure itself against. In the most recent ladder after Round 12, Gisborne sits first with 32 points and 201 percent, followed by Sandhurst and Strathfieldsaye, keeping the senior footy race finely balanced.

Spirit and Redbacks Build for Campaigns

Bendigo Spirit finished the previous WNBL season with five wins and 16 losses and will rely on core players Carley Ernst and Tessa Lavey heading into the next campaign. Meanwhile the Redbacks have welcomed back 45-year-old club legend Heath Behrens as skipper for the 2024-25 BDCA First XI cricket season following his seven-year retirement. These developments shape the immediate outlook for both programs without any new on-field results reported this week.

Attention now turns to how these sides translate preparation and personnel into early-season outcomes across netball, football and cricket codes.