Swatton, who first joined the Bulldogs ahead of the cancelled 2020 season, has re-signed with the club for a further 12-months.

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One of the A-grade competition's youngest teams in 2021, Golden Square finished in eighth position with two wins and eight losses, having played one less game than both Strathfieldsaye and Kyneton, which finished in sixth and seventh positions with 3-8 win-loss records.

It was an improvement of two wins on their winless 2019 season.

The Bulldogs opened their account with a tough 38-36 win over Strathfieldsaye in round four and added their second win with a stirring victory over Kyneton in round 10 in premiership defender Kristen Wilson's 200th game.

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Swatton, who arrived at Wade Street on the back of leading Maiden Gully YCW to consecutive Loddon Valley league finals appearances in 2018-19, said an interrupted past two seasons had been particularly hard on teams like hers, which were looking to rebuild and make their way up the ladder.

"There hasn't been a lot of continuity and of course we lost an entire season last year, which was hard on everyone," she said.

"But we are confident we are making progress and with another year of this group being together, I'm sure we'll make some more progress.

"I'm hoping we can keep as much as the A-grade group together. There were some really encouraging signs as the season progressed.

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"The challenge now is to continue the development."

Disappointingly for the Bulldogs, only two rounds of BFNL netball were able to be played after round 10 on July 3 and they had the bye in one of them in round 17, meaning their season effectively ended following a round 12 loss to Sandhurst on July 10.

Swatton acknowledged that with three clear standouts at the top of the ladder - Kangaroo Flat, Sandhurst and Gisborne - it was a tough task for all teams to make ground on the leaders.

But she is confident that with further hard work and development, Golden Square can continue to claw its way back up the ladder.

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"Hopefully we just get a crack at a full season next year and see what we can do," she said.

Swatton is joined on the coaching panel by A-grade goal shooter Ally Symons, who will lead the Bulldogs' B-grade and B-reserve teams.

The club is still seeking a 17-and-under coach.

Golden Square will hold its first senior tryout on Monday, December 6 at 6pm and the second on Wednesday, December 8 at 6pm.

A third - if required - will be held on Monday, December 13 at a time to be announced.

Swatton joins Fiona Fowler and Gary Cooke (Castlemaine), Tarryn Rymer (Gisborne), Jayden Cowling (Kangaroo Flat), Di Guest-Oakley (Kyneton), Tamara Gilchrist (Sandhurst), Jannelle Hobbs (South Bendigo) and Steph Freemantle (Strathfieldsaye) as confirmed BFNL A-grade coaches for next season.

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