Caldwell wins Justine Radford medal for stellar Interleague performance

The 2026 Interleague netball clash provided yet another competitive matchup between the GDFNL Raiders and the Colac DFNL.

Hosted at Winchelsea’s Eastern Reserve on Saturday June 6, it was a close game with a great turnout in support of the talented players selected to represent the league.  

Despite the Raiders 58-53 loss to Colac, there were many positives to be taken away from the day following a consistently strong effort in all four quarters.

Goaler Bree Caldwell from the Thomson Tigers stood up for the Raiders, making her the recipient of the Justine Radford medal as best on court.

“I was not expecting that at all," Caldwell said.

“I’m feeling really honoured.”

Caldwell has scored an average of 28 goals across eight rounds for Thomson this season which solidified her place in the Raiders side as an accurate attacking player.

Regardless of the result, Caldwell and her teammates enjoyed every moment and appreciated the opportunity to play alongside girls from clubs across the league.

“I had a lot of fun,” Caldwell shared.

“I think the team played really well, given that we’re all from different areas and I hadn’t played with that attacking end at all.”

A polished Colac side proved to be tough competition for the Raiders, allowing the players to test their abilities and improve their gameplay both individually and as a team.

“We needed a little more consistency down the court throughout the whole game,” Caldwell admitted.

“I think we had some really good runs, but then they had some really good runs back.”

Working alongside Caldwell in the attacking end was Winchelsea’s Meg Royal as well as Belmont’s Molly Gribble and Ella Wasik.

All three played in Interleague last year.

Coming from Thomson herself, Caldwell enjoyed playing with experienced players from opposing clubs with Gribble captaining the Interleague side and Wasik having won the Justine Radford medal in 2025.

“I really enjoyed playing with Meg, Molly and Ella," Caldwell reflected.

“Ella shot beautifully which was great because it took a lot of pressure off of me, and Molly, her drives, I just knew I had to get out of the way.”

The side was guided by new Interleague coach Shannyn Leach from Thomson, as well as injured Belmont Lions player, Angelique Ross, fulfilling the role of team manager.

Whilst the Raiders didn’t secure the win that they were hoping for, the players displayed some excellent netball skills and did the GDFNL community proud.

Congratulations to Bree Caldwell on receiving the Justine Radford medal for 2026, and to the Interleague netball squad for their ongoing effort throughout the game.