North Heidelberg 2 have snuck through for a famous one-goal victory over Diamond Creek 1 in a thrilling Section 1 preliminary final at La Trobe Sports Stadium.
The Bulldogs suffered a gut wrenching 21-goal loss last week in the second semi-final, but they bounced back with 47-46 nailbiter on Friday night, thanks to a goal from Lilli Florance with one second remaining on the clock.
It means the Creekers will not feature in a Section 1 Grand Final for the first time since the NFNL netball competition commenced in 2008, ending an extraordinary run of 12 consecutive Section 1 premierships/minor premierships.
Diamond Creek were the first to score off a turnover, making North Heidelberg pay for their mistakes.
But Florance, who finished with 20 goals for the match, was unstoppable in the first term, shooting nearly every goal in that quarter, thanks to her immaculate movements around the circle.
She could not have gotten good looks at goal without the precise feeds from Madeline Ellis, who was able to sight the shooters with ease while becoming that seamless link between attack and defence.
Ellis took full advantage of the width of the court and often created plenty of space when initiating transitions into the attacking third.
But the Creekers were keeping up with the pressure and ensured their opponents got no further than a one-goal lead at quarter time and a two-goal advantage at the main break.
The shooting pair of Stacey Gannon (19 goals) and Emmalia Blake (17 goals) was truly entertaining to watch throughout the first half before Meredith Ball stood up in the second half to help contribute 10 goals of her own.
Ball and Gannon worked effortlessly together in the third term, with duo creating any space they wanted in the circle. Ball was steady under the post with Gannon doing exactly what she is known for, shooting goal after goal from long range.
It allowed Diamond Creek to wrestle back the momentum of the game in the third quarter, producing a 13-goal quarter to level the scores at 35-35 heading into a highly entertaining final term.
Kirra Parks did an excellent job for the Creekers at keeping their opponents on their toes. Whether it was winning the ball herself or causing some critical turnovers from the Bulldogs, Parks was a key cog in keeping the Creekers in the hunt throughout an intense last quarter.
Meanwhile Evelyn Phelan’s versatility was on full show for North Heidelberg, and it helped produce an incredibly influential performance for her side in the final stages of the matches. It allowed the likes of Florance and Brooke Dadds (20 goals) to keep the scoreboard ticking for their side.
Scores were again level heading into the last minute of the game and the crowd sensed that extra time would be likely to decide the winner.
However, the Bulldogs had one final opportunity to produce a score, and with some quick passing, the ball fell into the hands of Florance inside the attacking circle, who calmly slotted her 20th goal of the game with seconds remaining.
That goal was enough to solidify a famous one-goal victory for the Bulldogs, who now face North Heidelberg 1 in the Section 1 Grand Final in a fortnight’s time.
