200 GAMES FOR CONSISTENT TIGER She is not blessed with great height, she is not blessed with great speed and she does not dazzle with a highlight reel of incredible athletic feats but what Alisha Bryan does on a netball court is what every coach wants from every player – she always plays to a high level and she is incredibly consistent. With her distinctive step back on one leg for every shot, Bryan troubles every opponent and baffles every opposition coach. She is a no-fuss player with a poker face, who, as time has gone on over her long career, appears to have no weakness. She has perfected the art of positioning in the shooting circle and her accuracy means she is a constant threat. Bryan has never received the accolades of a Lisa Cram, Michelle Hosking or Lauren Hockley but you ask any coach or opposition circle defender and she is as damaging as any goaler that has played in the competition in the past two decades. Her talent has always been evident since debuting in the 17 & under competition in 1997. She played in that grade for four seasons, finishing runner-up best and fairest at club level this first two seasons and then winning the top honour in 1999. In 2000, her final year at junior level, she represented Western Border in the 17 & under team, making her official A grade debut in 2001, despite having already played a number of games in the top senior grade, along with talented teenage team mate Natasha Hunter (now Silvy). It was in 2001 that Bryan was named in the Western Border team of the year and was joint runner-up in the club best and fairest. It was in her third season of A grade that she experienced the ultimate success with the 2003 A grade premiership. Bryan then played A reserve the following two seasons before spending some time at Mid South East netball club Port MacDonnell. Her return to North Gambier in 2009 saw her return to the top senior grade and she won the club’s best and fairest title in that return season. Having a family might have slowed down her progress to the 200 game mark but certainly had no effect on her form and in 2012, she was the club runner-up best and fairest. This season she is back in A Reserve and a check of the best players for the first 10 rounds, shows she has rarely been out of the Tigers’ best. She has also filled in a number of times for the A grade line-up and also secured best player accolades in the top grade but is set to finish the season with the currently top ranked North Gambier A Reserve.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 07:48:40 +0000
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