SANDHURST has withstood a stirring final quarter revival from Gisborne to win a dramatic BFNL A-grade grand final at the Queen Elizabeth Oval courts.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The brave Bulldogs came from nine goals down at three quarter time to hit the front in a tense final quarter on Saturday.
Sandhurst found itself in front in the dying second, but an after-the-siren goal from Bulldogs goal shooter Ella Bertachinni tied the scores at 43-43 and sent the game into overtime.
As the Dragons had done for the bulk of the opening three quarters, they reasserted their authority to snatch a two goal lead at the end of the first period of extra time.
Not about to let the chance for back-to-back flags go begging, Sandhurst finished full of running to claim an emotional 53-47 win.
The win capped another dominant season for the Dragons, under their joint coaches Tamara Gilchrist and Heather Oliver, and a remarkable day for the club on the netball court.
Sandhurst also won back-to-back flags in the 17-and-under and B-grade competitions.
Gilchrist paid full credit to her players, six of whom started on the court in last year’s grand final triumph against Golden Square, for being able to repel a resurgent Gisborne.
“I won’t lie, I was nervous, really nervous after giving up the lead,” she said.
“We talked about it at three quarter time, Gisborne is a super side and they were going to throw everything at us. We knew we had to compose ourselves and just be steady.
“To Gisborne’s credit they really pushed us.”
In the lead-up to the clash, both Sandhurst coaches made known their desire for a fast start to avoid the repeat of a potential early game-breaking lead as Gisborne had done in its semi-final win a fortnight ago.
Their charges responded with the first three goals of the match - all of them coming from the cool-hand of Rebecca Smith - to help build up a 13-12 quarter time lead.
The Dragons, underpinned by amazing defensive pressure all over the court, continued to build the margin and led 27-21 at half time and 39-30 at three-quarter time.
Gilchrist branded the Dragons’ fast start as pivotal to the outcome.
“It set us up for at least the first three quarters; the girls heads were really in it from the first whistle,” she said.
“We knew what Gisborne was going to bring and we were prepared.”
The game quickly changed in complexion in the last quarter, with Bertachinni, who was fifth in this season’s league medal count, rattling off a succession of early quarter goals.
But as they have done so often in the past two seasons, Sandhurst was eventually able to dictate terms and add a ninth A-grade flag.
The premiership win was filled with stellar individual performances, with wing attack Meg Williams named best on court in the grand final for the second-straight year.
Fellow 19-year-old Imogen Sexton was a standout at goal defence, while goal attack Kelsey Meade (30 goals) and goal shooter Smith (23 goals) were more than a handful for the Gisborne defence, led by Betty Thompson medallist Maddy Stewart.
Meade was a difference-maker in extra time, with seven of the Dragons’ 10 goals.
Gilchrist reserved praise for Sexton, who has fought back from a pair of ACL injuries, to be a star in defence in Sandhurst’s dual premiership victories.
“Immy was just superb today; she had that look in her eye at the start of the game,” she said.
“She’s such an awesome player.
“The turnover ball she got today, her defensive pressure, her rebounding, were spot on.”
It was the second of two premierships this season for Sexton, who was part of City West Falcons’ Victorian Netball League championship flag win against Geelong Cougars.
Signifying the Dragons are perhaps only getting started with their premiership-winning run, three of their starters – Williams, Sexton and wing defence Sophie Shoebridge – are all aged 19 or under.
A further two of their bench players, Kelsey Ralph and Ruby Turner, are also aged in their teens, while the club looks well-stocked for future potential top-liners through the dual premiership success of its 17-and-under team.
I won’t lie, I was nervous, really nervous after giving up the lead.
- Tamara Gilchrist
Gisborne coach Kim Bailey said the loss had been a disappointing finish to an otherwise ‘wonderful season’.
She said the Bulldogs had paid dearly for an unusually poor start.
“It was a really disappointing first half in particular, we just couldn’t get our mojo going,” Bailey said.
“(Goal shooter) Clare Vearing wasn’t too well today and that messed us up a bit, but you have to work through that.
“It’s especially hard to come back from nine goals down and get a win, but we put ourselves in that position.
“Full credit to Sandhurst, they played a really great game.”
Bailey praised her players’ fighting spirit to claw back the nine-goal deficit and definitely felt once they had bridged the gap would be able to finish what they had set out to achieve, a premiership.
“But what happens with a lot of great teams, when someone fights back at them they seem to find another gear and Sandhurst certainly did in overtime,” she said.
“We thought we were in with a real chance, but they were too good.
“Their goalers were extremely good and Imogen Sexton had an amazing game.
“We just couldn’t find that right combination.”
It’s especially hard to come back from nine goals down and get a win, but we put ourselves in that position.
- Kim Bailey
Bertachinni was a standout at goal shooter in the second half and instrumental in the comeback with 13 last quarter goals.
Stewart and the Bulldogs’ other Betty Thompson medallist Tiana Newman also toiled hard for the Bulldogs, who were chasing their first flag since 2013.