RELATED:
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
LONG-TIME teammates Carly Demeo and Hollie Hildebrandt will share a special moment together on Saturday when the Elmore pair reach significant personal milestones against White Hills.
Demeo will line-up for her 200th game for the Bloods, while for Hildebrandt it will be match number 150.
The duo have played together for much of their HDFNL careers, even rotating the A-grade captaincy in recent seasons.
Their coach Kris Rosaia said both players were team and club-first people, who were widely respected at Elmore.
Demeo's playing career actually spans more than her soon-to-be 200 competitive games at Elmore.
She spent several years playing for the Bloods' primary grade team, first hitting the court as an eight-year-old.
A former Heathcore District Netball Association squad member through the junior grades, Demeo quickly made her way through the ranks to be an A-grade player, making the wing defence position her own.
Award wins along the way have included an A-grade best and fairest, A-reserve most versatile player and C-grade best and fairest.
Rosaia praised Demeo as a versatile, tough and tenacious player and a beautiful reader of the play.
"Her strengths are definitely reading the play and predicting where the ball is going," she said.
"She has these deceivingly long arms that pull in these amazing intercepts.
"She's consistently in our best players and a great club person.
"She is one of those players who just gets on (the court) and does it, there's no fuss, she knows what needs to be done.
"Her and Hollie show great leadership skills both off and on the court.
Hildebrandt is no stranger to awards success, having won three club best and fairest awards, including one in A-grade.
Known as Elmore's quiet achiever, the tough midcourter has taken on an extra role this season as joint coach of the 17-and-under team with sister Jessica.
Rosaia said Hildebrandt's strengths as a player lied in her pace and tenacity.
"She's always had an ability to see where the ball needs to go to next, so she's been working on getting their effectively and ready to get the pass." she said.
"She's played most of her games in centre and wing attack to play to her strengths.
"She's a real thinker and always keen to improve what she's doing."
As their respective ladder positions indicate, the eighth-placed Bloods face a difficult assignment against a Demons team Rosaia described as well deserving of their top-two position.
"They'll be strong and tough and wanting to make sure they retain their form and consolidate their position," she said.
"We'll set our goals as we do and work towards them and hopefully we can lessen the margin from the last time we played them."
MEANWHILE, in a potential finals match-up, top-of-the-ladder Colbinabbin hosts fourth-placed Gunbower-Leitchville.
Only three goals separated these teams when they met in round one, with the Grasshoppers scoring the first of eight straight victories this season.
The Bombers have mixed their form to be 5-3 at the halfway mark of the season, but have troubled the reigning premiers more than most sides over the past two seasons, including a win at this venue last season.
In other games, Mount Pleasant (4-4) can put a two game buffer between itself and Lockington-Bamawm United (3-5) in the finals race with a win at Lockington, while North Bendigo (2-6) is chasing two wins on end against winless Heathcote.