A NORMALLY hectic netball pre-season has become flat out for Bendigo's Jayden Cowling.
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The coach of Kangaroo Flat's A-grade team and regular men's state representative has for the first time been selected in Victoria's open men's team.
Adding to his commitments as coach of the Roos and the BFNL's open representative team and his role as Netball Victoria's northern region participation manager, Cowling has been making regular trips to Melbourne for training, in preparation for the Australian Men's and Mixed Netball Association Championships in April.
The 23-year-old will miss coaching Kangaroo Flat's' round two clash against Eaglehawk at Canterbury Park.
The clash between the Roos and Hawks will be a rematch of last season's preliminary final, won by Kangaroo Flat by 14 goals.
Cowling said he was eagerly looking forward to his first appearance in the Victorian open team.
"When I got the call-up late last year I couldn't believe it - it's been pretty hectic the last few months down in Melbourne, training twice a week, as well at the Kangaroo Flat stuff," he said.
"I've been in the under-23s the last three years and obviously the juniors and under-20s before that, so it's nice to step up to open team.
"A lot of those players I'm playing with now I grew up watching, so it's a nice touch being able to play alongside them now."
Cowling, who plays primarily as a goal attack and wing attack, has compiled a remarkable national championships record, with nine previous title wins.
His most recent came last April with the Victorian under-23 team, which compiled an impressive 8-0 record through the championships and defeated New South Wales by 13 goals in the grand final.
Cowling was named as the grand final MVP.
The open team newcomer is expecting some formidable opposition in Adelaide, particularly from the northern states.
"The competition has really strengthened up the last couple of years - Queensland and New South Wales have been the dominant (open division) teams the last few years," Cowling said.
"But we're excited to get it a good crack this year.
"We have players like Guy Keane, who coached (Gisborne) here in the Bendigo league, coming back after a couple of seasons off, and some other really talented players, who are playing well in the practice matches we've played."
Among those trial matches was a hit-out against the Collingwood Magpies.
Cowling was equally looking forward to his role as coach of the BFNL's open team.
The Bendigo league will play Ballarat in an inter-league clash on May 2 before targeting success at the Netball Victoria Association Championships in June.
Cowling declared Kangaroo Flat's pre-season as on track, with the Roos set to return all seven starters from their 2019 grand final line-up, which lost 35-42 to Sandhurst.
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