WHITE Hills is no ordinary club and 2019 was no ordinary season for the Demons.
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The perennial HDFNL netball powerhouse capped a season of pure dominance last Saturday, with wins in all four senior grand finals contested at Huntly.
It was the second season in a row the Demons have achieved the feat and continued a golden run of success on the netball court for the club.
A-grade has now won two-straight premierships (from four-straight grand final appearances), A-reserve has notched four-straight, while the winning streaks for B-grade and B-reserve have stretched to four and three respectively.
As the Demons celebrate another senior netball clean-sweep, the sheer authority with which they were able to achieve the quartet of flags seems to suggest their golden run shows no signs of abating.
Here's how a host of Demons viewed a momentous day.
A-grade
A banner day for White Hills leader Lauren Bowles included wins as coach of both the A-grade and A-reserve teams, and a best on court medal in the day's main event.
But for the second-year Demons coach, it was the four premierships in one day that made her most proudest.
"We were able to do it last year, but to do it again this year, we said it would be a dream and some dreams do come true," she said.
Bowles was quick to pay homage to the work of her predecessor Nadine Anderson, who came perilously close to achieving the feat in 2017.
"She did a lot of hard work before I took over as coach ... it's just not me in that coaching role, it's all the coaches that came before," she said.
"All of them have played a part in getting us here today and to this moment."
Pursuing back-to-back flags, White Hills was pushed to the limit by a club no stranger to premiership dynasties itself in Colbinabbin.
As the Grasshoppers have done throughout the last four seasons' worth of grand finals between the two rivals, that were again able to bring out the best in the Demons.
"The rivalry is amazing, we truly do look forward to playing each other. You really can't go past it," Bowles said.
A succession of Demons players praised a strong team oriented ethos and bond between players across all grades as pivotal in the premiership success.
"We say it all the time, there's 36 of us (senior players) at White Hills and we are team-mates on the court and great friends off it," said wing defence Bronte Deary.
"It's just an amazing club, so tight-knit. I couldn't find a better place to be."
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A-reserve
It was a busy and prosperous grand final day for plenty from White Hills on Saturday, among them Emily Gloury.
Roughly 90 minutes after coaching the Demons to a B-grade flag, Gloury was a premiership player herself and a best on court medallist, after the Demons' 51-29 A-reserve grand final win against Mount Pleasant.
She could not have been prouder to have been involved.
"It was a massive achievement for those B-grade girls, they fought so hard in that extra time," Gloury said.
"I had to go in mentally prepared for my game, but it took a bit out of me.
"I was fully into the game and wasn't worried about my game at all, I was fully focused on B-grade and so proud of the girls."
In a polished effort, White Hills had the better of every quarter, increasing its 16-6 quarter-time lead to 11 at half-time, 17 at three-quarter-time, and 21 by full-time.
Gloury, who has been part of four-straight A-reserve premierships with the Hillies and was captain on Saturday, was humbled by the best on court nomination.
"I wasn't expecting this at all - I thought (goal shooter) Olivia Treloar, who shot and played beautifully, would get it," she said.
"But it's nice to get the recognition on the day of the big dance and walk away with three medals."
The A-reserve skipper pinpointed the club's culture and unity as integral to the Demons' golden run of success.
"We walk out onto the court as great mates and really back each other. I think that's something that is pretty rare to find, that every single person gets along," she said.
"As a whole club we are a unit, not team-by-team and that's the secret to success.
"It's unbelievable to get four (premierships) after last year."
B-grade
A standout midcourt performance from Laurinda Sawyer, some clutch-shooting from Rosie Close and a late cameo from wing attack Karlie Baker featured in the Demons' stirring two-goal overtime win against a brave North Bendigo in B-grade.
Little separated the two sides all day, with scores tied at quarter-time, half-time and full-time, with the Rhiana Broadbent-coached Bulldogs enjoying a three-goal lead at the last change of end, on the back of a strong quarter by goal shooter Chloe Butcher.
The Demons, who won their fourth-straight B-grade flag (all of them against North Bendigo, which went back-to-back in 2014-15), needed every moment of overtime to break free from a resilient Bulldogs.
It continued a nerve-racking finals series for the Demons, who were stripped of a semi-final win against the Bulldogs due to a score sheet error, and had to survive a nail-biting preliminary final win against Huntly.
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"(The previous) week we were about seven (goals) down with about five minutes to go against a quality opposition, but we were never going to give up and knew we were always capable of pegging it back," said best on court Sawyer.
"When we got to the same position today (Saturday) and were down by six or seven, we did look at each other and think why do we do we do this to ourselves.
"But we're a fighting team and have a winning culture at White Hills, so we were really proud to claw our way back and get a win."
Sawyer, who missed last season's premiership win after the birth of son Karter, praised team-mate Close as a 'valuable asset after she finished with 31 goals for the match.
"She has come back from A-reserve this year and has been a real focus point," she said.
"At the same time she has worked really hard on her game and she has been rewarded with a really great performance."
It was premiership win number six in black and red for Sawyer, who said the 'feeling got better and better with each one'.
A magnificent day for Rindy was made even better when she was again joined by her sister Dannielle as a premiership winner in the day's A-grade encounter.
B-reserve
An unforgettable day for White Hills was kick-started with a 41-26 victory in the B-reserve grand final over North Bendigo.
The Demons asserted their dominance early with a 16-3 opening quarter, with 13-goals coming from the hand of steady goal shooter Brianna Hamblin.
They were able to stretch the margin to 20-goals at half-time and by a further one-goal at three quarter-time, before the Bulldogs rallied with an 11-5 final quarter.
The premiership was the Demons' third-on-end in B-reserve.
Victorious coach Alana Prime, who later played in the Demons' A-reserve at wing defence, was rapt to put the seal on an undefeated season.
"It's exciting to get it over and done with - we always knew North would be a hard opponent. They have been our toughest opposition all season and gave us a bit of a scare in the first final," she said in reference to her side's three-goal second semi-final win.
"Being up by so much in the first quarter was a real confidence booster.
"That makes it three-in-a-row for this team, although I've only coached the last two, so they are flying along.
"There's no secret to this team, it's a secret for the club.
"We are a huge family at this club. We (all four senior teams) train together, which is very important, so that even if we have movement in our teams, anyone can slot into any team, or into any position.,
"That reflects today (Saturday), with all four senior teams represented."
Prime conceded to a few extra nerves, with her side being charged with the responsibility of getting grand final day off to a good start for the club, but was stoked to have pulled through.
Skipper Chloe Bath led from the front to be named best on court for an excellent three quarters at wing defence.
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