Competitiveness is at the forefront of Netball Tasmania's mind after the Tasmania Netball League watched another year of Northern dominance.
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The remainder of the competition have endured some years without success after witnessing the Northern Hawks and Cavaliers play-off in their third grand final in succession this year.
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Despite the pattern, Netball Tasmania chief executive Aaron Pidgeon isn't concerned about the competitiveness of the TNL.
"I wouldn't say concerned. We obviously want the league to be competitive, and Cavs and Hawks have dominated the open division standings in recent seasons. But this type of dominance tends to work in cycles where you have core groups who remain together for periods of time," he said.
"Those two sides are setting a great standard for the remainder of the open division and I have no doubt that other clubs will come back into the mix very soon based on performances in the 19s-and-under competition."
Part of the reason for Netball Tasmania's optimism is the performance of Devon in the under-19s competition this season.
Devon's Macy Goninon claimed the under-19s most valuable player while Cripps Waratah's Ash Turner made the Australian under-17s squad.
"Devon winning the 19-and-under premiership was a real highlight after many lean years for teams from the North-West Coast. Six of the seven clubs in the competition also featured in finals across the two divisions," he said.
"We currently have a feedback process open for clubs, and we will look to sit down in the coming weeks to meet with them and discuss how we can continuously improve the competition."
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Pidgeon pointed to the feats of Hawks shooter Ash Mawer and Cavs shooter Hayley McDougall as a testament to the talent in the league.
"We had two exceptional individual honours with two goalies in the open division both cracking the 1000-goal barrier this season," Pidgeon said.
Overall, Pidgeon said the competition was in good health as it busily prepares to get ready for next season.
"The TNL competition is strong. We would always like to see more competitiveness in both divisions concurrently, as all clubs would agree and strive for, but it's rare in any sporting competition to have all clubs competing for a title in any given year," he said.
"The vast majority of the best athletes and officials are participating, and we've been able to effectively manage a true statewide home and away format."
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