Stanhope took a competitive grand final by the scruff of the neck with a powerful final term.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Second off the rank on Kyabram District League netball grand final day was the top junior-level clash between Merrigum and Stanhope.
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The Bulldogs came in contesting the club’s only grand final on the day, and there was plenty of support in the form of red, white and blue on the periphery at Mooroopna.
The early going did bring some growing pains, though, as the two clubs were buffered by the same winds that hampered the late stages of the 15-and-under clash on the neighbouring court.
Merrigum made the better of things at first, though, heading into the first change up by two.
A two-down deserves a good two-up, though, and as the ominous grey skies gave way to flashes of beating sun, the Lions heated up and turned matters on their heads with a modest advantage of their own by the half.
Some attempts went awry early in the third as things started to tighten up amidst the returning winds, with Bulldogs keeper Zeenat Ishola coming to the fore in a couple of clutch moments.
The scoreboard wasn’t ticking over for just any old reason as uninterrupted entries started to appear at a premium in a contest that rapidly grew more tense.
What certainly helped ease the nerves of courtside Lions faithful was a flurry of five straight to end the quarter with every bit of the momentum as shooter Charli Miller got in a destructive rhythm, later relieved by Matilda Schubach.
They were hardly done there, either, riding those sails through to a game-breaking spell that put the game to bed by midway through the last.
There was jubilation at the final siren for Stanhope, fourth in the regular season and forced to take the long way around, after knocking over the minor premiers in a big way on the big stage, strolling home 43-28 to back-to-back flags.
Merrigum's Zeenat Ishola seeks to turn defence into attack.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Stanhope's Tia Harrison takes her place to get the game going.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Stanhope's Tia Harrison goes for a long-range pass.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Merrigum's Alyssa Christou comes to a quick stop.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Merrigum's Angel Spencer tries to rise above a shot.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Stanhope's Sophie Joyce extends herself to keep ahold of the ball.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Stanhope's Dakota Powell weighs up her options.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Stanhope's Isabella Pate was at the forefront as best on court.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Coach Bec Schubach was ecstatic speaking post-match, praising her side’s willingness to take messages on board.
“I’m very proud of them,” Schubach said.
“They’ve been working very hard all year; we’ve trained super hard the last eight weeks to make sure our fitness was right.
“Our defensive pressure got us over the line with a lot of held balls. We had to keep it short with the wind and they listened to what we had to say.
“It’s very exciting for them; a lot of our girls have played together since 13’s through all the grades together, so it was nice for them to make a grand final in their last year of juniors.
“They all played very well together and you don’t win a game of netball in the first half, you have to win it at the end so their fitness helped as well.”
Understandably in what became an offensive rout, Lions goaler Isabella Pate was recognised by officials as the game’s top performer.
“You don’t feel like she’s doing a lot but Izzy’s always doing the little bits and pieces,” Schubach said.
“She’s a player you can rely on and a very positive person who’s good under pressure”
“It means a lot to us as one of our girls, Olivia Gemmill, wasn’t able to take the court because of a couple of bad injuries through the year.
“We had her in our mindset as well and that was really good motivation for the girls.”
