THE future is looking rosier than ever for Sandhurst following the back-to-back premiership success of the Dragons’ 17-and-under team.
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The young Dragons, led by coach Rose Gallagher, scored the first of two grand final wins against Gisborne on Saturday, after winning a high-calibre junior encounter 40-33.
Their A-grade team would later also defeat the Bulldogs 53-47.
In a see-sawing contest, Sandhurst trailed by two goals at quarter time, led by three at half time and was on level terms with the Bulldogs at three quarter time.
With Meg McCarthy dominant at centre and Sahara Rodda and Keeley Jones on their game in the goal circle, the Dragons produced their best netball of the contest in the final quarter to win by seven goals.
Their back-to-back wins have come under two different coaches, with club stalwart Jannaya Webb at the helm for last year’s triumph against Maryborough.
The Dragons were without one of their stars Piper Dunlop, who was away at Basketball Australia development camp at the AIS.
Gallagher paid full credit to Gisborne for a strong challenge, but had plenty of faith her side would eventually come out on top.
“We just tried to break it down to 15 minute quarters and were looking at things at the end of each 15 minutes,” she said.
“We’ve been behind in other games throughout the year, but have always managed to come though.
“The third quarter hasn’t been good for us in most of our tight games, and I had a feeling it might be that way again today.”
The flag win capped an unbeaten season for the Dragons, who claimed the minor premiership with 15 wins and a draw.
Gallagher described her 10 players as a special group of girls.
“Back-to-back is a really awesome effort, the girls have worked really hard on being a team this season – there’s no individuals,” she said.
“We’ve missed Piper Dunlop today with her Australian basketball commitments, but we have just got 10 strong team players.”
Six of the nine players involved in Saturday’s win – Jones, Bronte McConnachie, Matisse Perez, Emmie Banfield, Pip Robertson and Darcey Lloyd also featured in the 2017 premiership.
Gallagher indicated she was keen to hang onto the coaching job for another season.
It was nearly a premiership double for the Gallagher clan, with Rose’s husband David leading the Dragons’ under-18s footballers into grand final battle against Gisborne.
The Dragons fell just three points shy of a win after trailing by 31 points at three quarter time.
One of the team’s three newcomers, Rodda was adjudged best on court from a long line of worthy candidates on both sides.
The goal attack, who is also a talented under-18 basketballer for the Junior Braves, admitted she was surprised by her medal win.
“I thought Meg McCarthy our wing attack, or Matisse Perez might have won it,” she said.
“But in the end everyone played their part.”
The 16-year-old, who spent the 2017 season in the B-reserve team, said she planned on continuing with the 17-and-under team next season in the hope of helping the club to a third-straight flag.
Gisborne coach Maddy Stewart said she was proud of her team’s effort to reach the grand final from fourth place and be right in the contest for the duration.
“The girls gave their absolute all and put in a really awesome 60-minute game, Sandhurst unfortunately was just too strong on the day,” she said.
“They deserved it and played really well.
“We had our opportunities and probably didn’t grasp them when they presented – Sandhurst took their opportunities and were the team that did it better on the day.
“We had a couple of patches of play when we weren’t at our best, but we had an awesome season.
“There are lots of things to learn from that and we’ll come back stronger.”