AFTER a dream year on the netball court in 2023, highlighted by Victorian Fury selection and a BFNL premiership with Gisborne, Claudia Mawson has started the new season by adding another chapter to her fairytale run.
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The star goal attack and best on court in the Bulldogs' stunning one-goal grand final triumph over Sandhurst last season has notched up another impressive accolade, being selected in the Melbourne Vixens squad for the inaugural Suncorp Super Netball reserves competition.
Mawson was last week unveiled as one of 16 players to be considered for selection by the Vixens for the five-week tournament, to run from June 1 to July 7.
The Vixens reserves will be coached by Bendigo Strikers championship coach Tracey Brereton.
Mawson, who has been in outstanding form for Gisborne in early BFNL season wins over Sandhurst and South Bendigo, said it was exciting to be part of a new format of netball.
"It will give athletes like the (Vixens) training partners and a few more of us from the VNL clubs a chance to play interstate, which is cool," she said.
"We'll see how it goes. It is pretty exciting. I've played for the Vic Fury for a couple of years, so this is kind of similar thing.
"It's cool to be in very close quarters with the Vixens and have access to the environment and their coaching as well.
"It's just a squad at the moment - they will name a team before each game.
"But we are training together as a squad on Friday nights, which makes it a little bit hard to play again on Saturday.
"I still have to get picked to play for the Vixens reserves, so we'll just play that week-by-week."
Mawson is one of two current BFNL players in the squad.
The pair's careers have seemingly intertwined in recent times.
Both were members of last year's Victorian Fury team at the Australian Netball Championships, while often lining up against each other on court.
Their most recent meeting came in last Wednesday night's VNL clash in Melbourne, in which Sexton's Bendigo Strikers scored a thrilling two-goal win over Mawson's Melbourne University Lightning.
"It was a tough game - we both match up well against each other," Mawson said of the experience.
"It was frustrating to lose a close one ... it always is. But to their credit the Strikers came home really strong and just got over the top of us.
"We get to play them again, which is great. There's a little bit of rivalry already between us with a lot of BFNL overlap, playing against each other on a Saturday and a Wednesday."
Mawson said Sexton and her were 'in the same boat' in being likely to miss a few BFNL games during the five-week duration of the SSN reserves season.
If that eventuates, the Bulldogs co-captain will retain full faith in her side not missing a beat in attack.
"Lucky we've got goaling depth. Bella Connors played on Saturday and did really well," Mawson said.
"Bella and Torie (Skrijel) played juniors together, so it was nice to see them back out on court together.
"They are just going from strength-to-strength, so I don't think it will be a loss. We still have people coming through."
Mawson, who sat out the last quarter of last Saturday's 24-goal win over South Bendigo, was thrilled to see the Bulldogs keep their early-season unbeaten record intact.
It followed a victory over Sandhurst two weeks' earlier in their first game for premiership points since last year's grand final match.
The game against the Bloods loomed as a potentially tricky one for the Bulldogs, who split the honours in their two home and away season games. both last season and in 2022.
"They are almost like a bit of a hoodoo team. They match up really well with us and it's always a pretty even contest," Mawson said.
"They are very strong defensively and their goalers are very accurate, so pretty strong across the board.
"We got the jump on them early (to lead 20-6 at quarter time), but it was pretty tight after quarter time.
"Our defenders were great; they won so much ball and were definitely our strongest link.
"We are still rotating through our attack end, trying to figure out combinations.
"Dasha (Taylor) has come in fresh, which is really exciting, but we're still working through those combinations."
I think we are comfortable with where we are and playing some good netball, but I don't think we are thinking too far ahead at the moment
- Claudia Mawson
Gisborne has looked very much at ease in the early weeks of the season and is noticeably relishing being out on court together and around each other again.
While memories of last year's grand final success will never fade, Mawson said the reigning premiers were taking nothing for granted in their premiership defence.
"I think we are going about it in a similar way. I don't think much has changed," she said.
"Obviously last year was pretty exciting, but it's a fresh new season and there are still some very strong teams in the competition, so we don't feel very much different to how we viewed ourselves last year.
"I think we are comfortable with where we are and playing some good netball, but I don't think we are thinking too far ahead at the moment.
"We are really enjoying being on the court and very close off it too. It's a great bunch."
