EVERY grand final has its one or two moments that stand head and shoulders above the rest in shaping the outcome.
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In BFNL netball in 2011, it was the astute half-time moves by Golden Square coach Kath Basilewsky which turned the premiership decider on its head.
Trailing Sandhurst by three goals, the playing coach orchestrated a pair of key switches, swinging Lou Dupuy from defence to goal shooter and activating Tara O'Toole from the bench to take up the goal keeping duties.
The moves would have a rapid and dramatic effect for the Bulldogs, who were chasing their first A-grade crown since 2008.
So often dubbed the 'premiership quarter', the third term proved momentous for the Bulldogs and ruinous for the Dragons, who had established their half-time advantage on the back of some precision play by that season's Betty Thompson Medal winner Brianna Dalrymple-Monro, fellow midcourter Stephanie Strachan, class goal attack Maddi Exell and Georgia Tatnell in defence.
Led up front by Dupuy, Golden Square piled on 18 goals to the Dragons' six in the third term to claim a convincing 37-28 lead at the final break.
In an imposing performance by the Bulldogs youngster, Dupuy scored 13 of the Bulldogs' goals for the quarter.
With a sharp and skilful midcourt of Lia Marrone, Amy Davies and Belinda Pinner growing in confidence and strength the longer the contest went, the Bulldogs were able to slow down Sandhurst's fast-paced game and force skill errors, to maintain their ascendancy.
Their efforts were again complemented by best on court medallist Dupuy, who continued her domination in the goal circle, allowing the Bulldogs to notch up a 49-42 victory.
Speaking to the Bendigo Advertiser post-match, Basilewsky said she backed in her half-time changes.
"I had full confidence in all eight players," she said.
"Tara (O'Toole) has been coming off the bench so well - we call her our impact player - and is always able to come on and not worry about any nerves.
"Lou (Dupuy) is just fantastic at either end and is just so accurate and so strong, so we couldn't go wrong with those changes."
Lou (Dupuy) is just fantastic at either end and is just so accurate and so strong, so we couldnt go wrong with those changes.
- Kath Basilewsky
Basilewsky also praised the hard work of her midcourt players, Marrone, Davies and Pinner.
"Sandhurst have such a fast pace on the court, and we knew that, so we had to interrupt their play a little bit," she said.
"We had a few tactics up our sleeves and the centre court knew they had to work their guts out for the full 15 minutes."
One of the youngest players on-court that day, Golden Square's Jess Geary recalls the massive impact her future Colbinabbin premiership team-mate Dupuy had on the contest that day.
It was Geary, who started the game at goal shooter, and, according to the Bendigo Advertiser match report, was one of the Square's best in the second quarter, who made way in the second half for Dupuy.
"I remember we just needed someone tall in there to throw the ball to and she got the job done," she said.
"That's just netball, it's the same now we've got older and played in grand finals for Colbo, you need a coach who is confident enough to make those decisions and make the changes."
Geary, who went on to play in three-straight flags with Colbinabbin from 2015-17, and was voted best on court in the Grasshoppers' 2015 flag win against North Bendigo, could not speak highly enough of her 2011 premiership mentor and her years at Wade Street.
"Kath was a great coach, full of knowledge. As a young player getting tips and stuff from her was amazing," she said.
"Especially because she was a goaler as well, so she could really resonate with the things I was doing and what I really needed to work on.
"It was great having a coach you could play with in goals. I really enjoyed that, as I have the last few years with Lou Dupuy and Liz (Cobbledick) at Colbo.
"Having them coaching and playing up the same end of the court as you, they just manage to have a head about them and manage to pick up things on the court.
"I really value playing coaches, I think they're brilliant."
Geary, who was aged 20 in 2011, still looks back with fondness on the years spent developing her craft at Golden Square, among a host of premiership performers.
"I learned so much from the girls at Golden Square, it was actually great coming up through Golden Square, they gave me an opportunity at a very young age to start playing with the A-grade team," she said.
"I was probably way out of my league, but I was pretty rapt to be playing with the likes of Jody Richards, Kath Basilewsky and Belinda Pinner - there were heaps of them.
"Even down in defence, watching Kristen Wilson and Ros McEniry in those few years that we played together was just awesome.
"That was a massive learning curve for me."
It would be another three years before the Bulldogs returned to the grand final stage against Kangaroo Flat in 2014 and a further 12 months before their next flag, with three players from 2011 collecting another premiership win.
Intriguing names from Sandhurst's grand final line-up in 2011 included goal shooter Abby Gilmore, who would go on to play a leading role in the following year's grand final - albeit in different colours - and future national league star Chloe Watson.
- NEXT UP: 2012 - Hawks break premiership drought with stirring comeback
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