A review of the three 2017/18 summer netball grand finals, which were played at Parade College on Friday night.
Section 3 Summer Grand Final – Heat 3 vs Hurstbridge 2
Finishing second and third place respectively on the ladder, Heat 3 and Hurstbridge 2 stepped onto the Parade College court ready for a grand final battle.
It was a tight first quarter, with both teams feeling the grand final nerves, as they struggled early to find their best form on the court.
Hurstbridge came out the gates a step behind Heat, as the Heat girls managed to pull ahead, using their court space well to move forward from each centre pass.
A shaky opening for Hurstbridge was soon recovered as the team tightened their play to score some goals and finish the quarter off just three goals behind their opposition.
The second quarter saw a lead change. Hurstbridge WD Olivia Weekes set the pace for the quarter, intercepting the first centre pass and allowing her team to score the opening goal.
From there it was nothing but net for the Hurstbridge shooters, Tamika Dean and Amy Fisher, who tied the game at 7-7 in the first minutes of the quarter.
The Heat girls were on the back foot by the sudden turn in Hurstbridge’s play, and by the end of the first half had lost their lead. Hurstbridge sat ahead at the main break by two goals, 13-11.
Opening the third on a high, Hurstbridge GD Tamsin Leonard, cleared a tap off the centre pass to her teammate to keep her side’s goal tally rising.
Again, coming through for an intercept just outside the circle, Leonard stopped Heat in their tracks as her side pushed ahead 16-11.
With the pressure building from Hurstbridge, Heat was feeling the pressure and started to lose some control of their plays. There were several fumbled passes of the ball and at times they opted to go long rather than for short passes, which resulted in turnovers.
In the final term Hurstbridge continued to make Heat work overtime. The Bridge kept their plays nice and steady and maintained their lead to keep their opposition at a distance.
Despite their efforts, Heat could not make up the solid groundwork Hurstbridge had dug throughout the second and third quarters.
Hurstbridge eventually closed for a six-goal win, with the final score 26-20.
Best on court was awarded to shooter Amy Fisher of Hurstbridge 2.
Heat 3 was awarded the 2017-18 Summer Season Most Disciplined Club award on the night, while the Section 3 Best and Fairest award was won by Jaymi-Lee Demanuele of St Mary’s 3.
The Star Shooter award for the leading goal scorer in Section 3 went to Hayley Ozimek from Bundoora 4 with 150 goals.
Final scores: Hurstbridge 2 (26) def Heat 3 (20)
Section 2 Summer Grand Final – Greensborough 1 vs Hurstbridge 1
Hurstbridge also claimed the Section 2 summer premiership, with a one-goal win over Greensborough in the grand final.
Hurstbridge 1 reached the decider from fourth place on the ladder after defeating both Bundoora 2 and Craigieburn 2 during the first two weeks of the finals.
Coming up against undefeated ladder-leader Greensborough 1 in the decider, the two teams fought until the final siren in a nail-biting grand final.
Hurstbridge scored the first goal of the match, only to have Greensborough sink two quick shots right after.
Hurstbridge forced a held ball as GD Jessica Bamblett worked well with her teammate GK Kylie Christian to keep the pressure on the shooters.
Both Hurstbridge and Greensborough applied a great deal of pressure in the first term, with Greensborough ending a low-scoring term ahead 5-4.
Tying the game on their first drive of the second quarter, Hurstbridge rebounded Borough’s penalty shot to score the opening goal.
Hurstbridge began to slowly creep up in score but the accurate shooting of Borough GA Madison Carroll kept her side just in front approaching the second half.
Borough opened a small lead for themselves in the third quarter, forcing errors by ensuring Hurstbridge players always had a player right on their heels when in possession.
The end of the third proved difficult for Hurstbridge to score many goals, despite their efforts to push towards their shooters in the circle.
Borough begun the final term seven goals ahead of Hurstbridge, but the Bridges didn’t drop their heads and scored more goals in the opening three minutes of the last term than they managed across the whole third quarter.
With a new attitude and the momentum, Hurstbridge was able to move the ball around the court almost effortlessly, as it dominated down the court to tie the scores at 18-18.
Borough GA Olivia McCluskely snatched up a quick pass into her shooting range to score and put her team back in front.
The competition was heating up and after sitting behind all game, Hurstbridge was finally able to take the lead in the final two minutes of the game.
Greensborough tried its best to get in front once again, but Hurstbridge remained calm and held possession, taking home grand final victory for the second time on the night.
Best on court was awarded to Hurstbridge 1 defender Jessica Bamblett.
The Best and Fairest award for Section 2 was tied between Hollie Wilson from Bundoora 2 and Ella Stoward from Craigieburn 2.
The Star Shooter award went to Ausilia Sommerville from the Craigieburn 2 with 147 goals.
Final scores: Hurstbridge 1 (21) def Greensborough 1 (20)
Section 1 Summer Grand Final – Bundoora 1 vs St Mary’s 1
Bundoora capped off an outstanding season by claiming the Section 1 summer premiership.
Facing off against its semi-final opponent, St Mary’s, Bundoora once again proved too good in the decider – winning 30-22.
The first half promise an exceptionally close match, however St Mary’s could not maintain the pace through all four quarters as Bundoora took control during the second half.
The defensive pressure across court was impressive by both teams.
St Mary’s defenders Caitlin Ryan, Nakita Lastrina and Jacqueline Kitto, built a barrier in their third to stop progression towards the circle by Bundoora early in the match.
Likewise, at the opposite end of the court, Bundoora defenders Narelle Draper and Georgia Tatnall were making it just as difficult for St Mary’s to pass in and around their shooting circle.
Only one goal separated teams at the end of the first quarter, with Bundoora taking the lead into the second term.
St Mary’s did its absolute best to edge ahead in the second quarter, but Bundoora made it impossible to do so. For each goal St Mary’s put up, Bundoora replied with a goal of its own.
St Mary’s shooter Karissa Kostoglou and Karli Burns remained calm with each shot, and never allowed Bundoora to push too far ahead.
The second half took a turn in the opposite direction for St Mary’s, with the Burra girls appearing to tire.
The powerhouse that is Bundoora closed many opportunities for St Mary’s to get more scores on the board.
Taking a nine-goal lead heading into the final quarter, Bundoora showed no signs of slowing down, moving the ball down the court with class to increase their lead.
While the effort and determination was there, St Mary’s could not quite match the level of netball Bundoora produced in the final two terms
The Best on Court was awarded to Kate Butler, GA for Bundoora, while the Section 1 Best and Fairest was awarded to Natalie Nolan from Bundoora 1.
The Star Shooter award for the leading goal scorer in Section 1 went to Karli Burns of St Mary’s 1 with a total of 218 goals.
Final score: Bundoora 1 (30) def St Mary’s 1 (22)
