Netball
2 April, 2026
WFNL 2026 preview: New coach looks to build on 2025 success
There's a new coach leading the way for Ararat A grade netball this season, Faith Biddle, and she's looking to keep building the momentum that the side has been gathering.
After getting to know the group in her first season with the Rats last year, Biddle said she felt it was time to step up.
She's been playing netball since under 13s, and her interest was sparked by watching her mum and older sister play.
"Mum signed me up to play as soon as I was old enough and I’ve been playing (predominantly) since," Biddle said.
"I completed my junior netball with Maffra Football Netball Club, then moved to Sale City Football Netball Club for a year."
After having four years away from netball, Biddle returned to the sport, playing for Ararat Eagles for a couple of seasons, and then moved to the Ararat Rats.
Although it's her first season at the helm of an A grade side, she has coached juniors and lower sides at Maffra and Sale.
"Last season I built strong relationships with the girls in our team and naturally fell into more of a leadership role among our A grade side," Biddle said.
"I think I had a lot more to offer than being just a player on their team and I wanted to continue to share my knowledge with them this season."
Biddle said the side was back in finals last season for the first time in a while, bolstered by the addition of not only herself but A grade best and fairest in the league runner-up Maggie Astbury.
She said they were able to build a base that was strong as a group and making finals was exciting for the club in its entirety.
"We set high standards for ourselves as a group last season and we knew we could challenge those teams at the top," Biddle said.
"When the season started and we were able to transfer what we had practised into game play it was exciting for us to see how far we may actually get into the year."
She said the leaders of the side considered the season successful in terms of setting a high standard, playing finals netball and putting the club back into the position they would like to be in for their netball program.
"Of course, there are always things that can be improved on," she said.
"We hope to keep our group of seniors playing together to build that experience and make senior netball at the Rats strong like it once was.
"We will continue to work on our team building at training and keep pushing each other and hopefully this season we can go one better."
The team has retained the majority of their group from last season and greeted a few newbies or players returning.
"We have welcomed back Julia Harricks to the side, returning after a season off," Biddle said.
"We have also welcomed Kiarna Taylor, who has joined us from Ararat Eagles, and Bridie Price, one of our junior players stepping up into our A grade side."
Building on last year's side, it's no surprise then that Biddle wants to pick up from where they left off last season, acknowledging the great group of girls not only in the club's A grade side but through all grades of seniors.
"We want to keep reaching that finals netball and gaining on that experience," Biddle said of the 2026 season.
"For a lot of the girls, finals netball was an experience that was foreign to them, and that’s something we want to be able to continue to be a part of.
"We also want to set a high standard for our girls coming through the netball program at the Rats and continue building up netball for our community."
