Circling Back: From Rivals to Teammates

Netball action is back on the court at St Kilda City. Our netball reporter Tia Pynor-Greedy talks to long-time rivals Aisling Kelly and Hollie Dawson about strategy and hustle.

The 2026 Southern Football Netball League season is well underway, and St Kilda City Netball Club is back at the Peanut Farm with five netball teams taking to the court across A2, B1, B2, C2 and D1 grades.

It’s a club that keeps growing and the sporting stories are just as good as anything happening on the scoreboard.

This story starts at Under 12’s. Aisling Kelly (pictured right) and Hollie Dawson spent their junior years as direct rivals, playing goal attack and goal defence in the shooting circle since under 12’s.

Now 16 years later, the pair are teaming up at the St Kilda City Netball Club.

Strategy and hustle

On court, Ash brings pace and versatility to the attacking end, equally dangerous at goal attack and wing attack, always on her toes. Hollie is a composed and physical defender, equally at home at goal defence or goalkeeper, with the court vision to read the play before it develops, known by her team as the queen of intercepts.

Between the two of them, there’s as much strategy as there is hustle.

Ask Hollie Dawson to describe Aisling Kelly as a player in one word, and she comes back with two.

“Competitive and fast.”

Aisling laughs when she hears it. Then she offers two back for Hollie: “Mean and strong.”

And for the record neither of them are taking it back!

For years, these two were each other’s problem on the netball court. Aisling playing goal attack for Mount Eliza Junior Netball Club, Hollie at goal defence for Langwarren Junior Netball club. Every time they crossed paths, it was shooter versus stopper, and neither made it easy.

Once going head-to-head, they now are standing side-to-side. Both Hollie and Aisling are playing for St Kilda City’s Team 4 in C2 grade at the Peanut Farm, and the switch from rivals to teammates is one they took no time adjusting to.

The girls have described it as a full circle moment (pun intended).

They sat at the top of the ladder for the first six rounds of the season, and they did it together. Then came a devastating loss to their Peninsula cousins Cheltenham, going down 39-22, dropping them to third. But one bad result hasn’t changed the mood for the girls. For Ash and Hollie, it’s just motivation to circle back to the top.