Taylor Morey appointed as A-grade coach of Wodonga Saints for 2024

The 24-year-old has returned to the club after two years away and takes the reins from Janine Adams, who led the Saints this season.

"I'm really excited," Morey said.

"I have a lot of friends who have coached A-grade before and they're really helping with the process."

Morey has previously played in the Ovens and Murray League for Albury and had a stint in the Hume League with Culcairn in 2022, in which time she was selected as an interleague representative.

Having had plans to travel this year, Morey committed to playing a handful of games for fellow Tallangatta and District League club Wahgunyah.

However, luck was not on the defender's side, rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament in a clash for the Lions.

After having surgery on her knee in August, Morey will wait to see whether she takes on the role as a playing coach next season.

"The recovery's going really well, it will just be a question of when I can come back and play," she said.

"If I did, it would probably be the middle of the season, but I think by that time the team would be pretty set.

"If I'm needed, I'll play, if I'm not, I won't."

Morey has previously spent three season in Saints' colours and will be joined by her family at the club next season, with younger sister Emily also coaching the club's under-15s.

"It is like a home club for us and they've always been super welcoming," she said.

After finishing the home and away season in 10^th spot this season, Morey's hoping a combination of retaining young talent and luring back past players will see them soar in 2024.

"We have a long term plan for Wodonga Saints netball club, which has been the first time in a long time that we've sat down and set out a three-year plan four our juniors and success as a club," she said.

"We used to kind of take it season by season, but we're hoping by making a future plan it we'll develop some youth and create a really youthful, and eventually experienced, A-grade side.

"Our plan is to hopefully bring back some old Saints, some of our juniors that were premiership players or league best and fairest winners.

"It can be hard in Wodonga in the Tallangatta League, because you have four or five Ovens and Murray clubs around that are a little bit more attractive at times.

"We're hoping to create a culture where we want to retain everyone and get that level of competitiveness back, you could say."

Saints will commence netball trials later this month, before a taste of preseason in December.

Cassie Van Malsem (B-grade), Trin Besic (interim C-grade and under-17s), Hannah Gilmore (under-13s) and Jacinda Hawkins (midgets) join the Moreys in taking on coaching roles at the club in 2024.

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