DVO begin their title defence with more options than in Ahoy

Twice DVO faced PKC in the final, in 2023 and 2024, and twice it went wrong. In April of this year they got it right: according to the overview on league.korfbal.nl, DVO beat Fortuna 31‑30 in Ahoy, the first indoor title in the club's history. Rosalie Peet decided that final. Three weeks later she announced that she is moving to PKC.

Peet out, Heuveling and De Korte in

With that, DVO lost their top-scoring female player of the closing phase. Quinty Stahli also left; she returned to MIA because, in her view, work, korfball and private life were no longer in balance. Two names stand opposite that. Jessie Heuveling scored 74 goals for DSC in her first season in the Korfbal League and takes Peet's place. Annelie de Korte is back in the squad and already showed at the European Championship that she is ready: in the final against Belgium she started for TeamNL.

Koen van Roekel sees Heuveling as a successor to Peet, he tells KORFBALINC: "With Jessie we have a player who is somewhat comparable to Rosalie. A good shadow forward who can shoot incredibly well." About De Korte he is even more emphatic: "Annelie can really do everything. You can basically put her anywhere and she functions well there. So we have extra options."

Read more: DOS '46 miss Malestein, but pin hopes on Van Veldhuisen and the women

Among the women, alongside De Korte, Daniëlle Boadi and Heuveling, there are also Roos Scherrenburg, Lisanne Fleer and Lara van Golberdinge. Last season's men stay together, including Gertjan Meerkerk, Menno van der Neut, Robbe de Wit and Van Roekel. Richard Gerritsen, who came through the entire DVO youth system, joins them. He is the older brother of Simon Gerritsen.

The team from Ahoy

Coaches Jeroen van Brakel and Reinier Rense are starting their second year. In De Korfbal Podcast after the final they were praised for the choices they dared to make in the last weeks, such as putting Robbe de Wit alongside Van Roekel against LDODK. Van Roekel himself was named the key player of the final in that episode. One of the analysts said: "DVO was the first team that could dominate Fortuna under the basket."

On the outdoor field the team held up well this autumn: in the Ereklasse DVO won four of their six matches, with one draw against DSC (23‑23). The last one was lost 18‑23 at home against DeetosSnel, who will also face DVO indoors on 21 November.

Favourite or challenger?

Van Roekel has no doubts, he tells KORFBALINC: "Quinty and Rosalie are gone, Annelie and Jessie have come in. I think we have improved on that and can compete at the top again." The goal is therefore clear: "We have one goal: to retain the title. So we simply want to play that final again and win that final."

Elsewhere it sounds more cautious. In the first episode of De Korfbal Podcast this season, Wilco van den Bos puts DVO in third place, behind Fortuna and PKC and ahead of LDODK. For the title he calls the champions an outside chance: "Outsider is DVO." John Jonker sticks with last season's top four: "That was the top 4 last year."

The start of the schedule will give a quick answer. After DOS '46 comes the away match at Dalto on 14 November, called "the away match of the year" by supporters' association VAK-D on the DVO website; the supporters are travelling to Driebergen by bus. After that come DeetosSnel and KZ.

Van den Bos is emphatic in the podcast about tonight's opener: "Yes, DVO are going to win that one." Van Roekel mainly looks forward to it, he tells KORFBALINC: "I'm also really looking forward to the opening match on Friday."