TWIN sisters Erica and Brianna Dalrymple-Monro have enjoyed plenty of success in the BFNL since first taking to the court for Sandhurst's 17-and-under team in the late-2000s.
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But until 2019, nearly all of it had been separate from each other.
It did not help matters that Brianna spent several seasons away from Sandhurst with Strathfieldsaye, where she won the second of her two Betty Thompson Medals as the BFNL A-grade competition's best and fairest in 2016.
She was also absent from the competition altogether in 2018.
Meanwhile, Dragons stalwart Erica had been content to spend her Saturdays playing with her mates in the club's A-reserve team for the better part of a decade.
Their netball careers did, however, intertwine when both were crowned league best and fairest winners in 2016, with Brianna becoming a dual A-grade medallist and Erica claiming her second Jenni Holburn Medal (A-reserve) following her previous win in 2014.
Therefore, it was with great anticipation, the twins would reunite on the netball court as team-mates in 2019.
And what a time to do it, with Sandhurst chasing a third-straight premiership following wins over Golden Square in 2017 and Gisborne in overtime in 2018.
It was a feat achieved only once in the league's then 29-year history - by the Dragons themselves in 2005-07.
Despite having filled-in for A-grade on plenty occasions along the journey, Erica said it took plenty of convincing from premiership coaches Tamara Gilchrist and Heather Oliver for her to make the decision to step-up full-time.
"It was pretty nerve-racking, even though I had actually played with most of the (A-grade) girls in the lower grades, or when I had filled in for A-grade a few times, " she said.
"I guess in some ways it was pretty easy to step in; all the girls are quite versatile and we got along so well, which was a plus.
"But I was still a bit unsure. I loved playing A-res with two of my best mates (Gabriella Greene and Kate McDougall) and the rest of the girls.
"(The coaches) had asked me a couple of times before and I was happy staying down in A-reserve, but then I thought 'stuff it', I'm going to give A-grade ago.
"I was getting older and who knows how much longer I am going to play for, so I might as well play the highest level I can.
"Pretty much Ollie and Tam came to me again and said do you want to and I relented."
There would be no regrets after Sandhurst weathered the fiercest of challenges from Kangaroo Flat to claim the premiership 42-35, after the difference was just two goals at three-quarter time.
Erica conceded a little bit of extra pressure to perform on grand final day, after the A-reserve side she had long been a part of had earlier got a win over the Roos. The Dragons had lost four of the previous five grand finals at that level.
"I was very nervous and when you are nervous you worry about losing a bit of energy, but in the second quarter I felt a lot more confident and comfortable," she said.
"But I think it was a great move putting Carly (Van Den Heuvel) on and me coming off. Obviously it was her last year and it gave her an opportunity to finish off on a high by being on the court."
Much of Erica's joy was reserved for Brianna, who was on the end of grand final losses with the Dragons in 2011-12 and with the Storm in 2015.
"I think she thought that she was cursed, and then she came back to Sandhurst and won one the first year back," she said.
"It was a nice way to return."
One of the most decorated players in BFNL history, Brianna said it was a relief to finally win one after all three of her previous grand finals had gone down to the wire.
"It was amazing to win one, especially with that group of girls and such a great team - I'm very honoured to play with them and for Tamara," she said.
"I literally have no idea what went wrong in those other grand finals, they have all been pretty close. I think it just comes down to the day and nerves get to everyone.
"You just have to get through it at the end of the day, but we never could."
Brianna summed her reason for returning to the Dragons in two words: "My sister."
"It had been 12 or something years since we had played in the same team; it was really good playing back at Sandhurst, but especially with her," she said.
"We had such a great time. This was her first proper year in A-grade and she did such an amazing job.
"She should be really proud of herself. There was no doubt she could have always been playing A-grade.
"I think being around people like Tam (Gilchrist) and Meg (Williams) and Ollie really boosted her confidence."
With no play possible so far this season due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2019 grand final remains undeniably fresh in the minds of players, coaches and supporters.
Brianna, who won the first of her Betty Thompson Medals in 2011 and has captained the senior North Central region team at the State Titles, is unlikely ever to forget the emotional scenes at the QEO that followed the Dragons' third-straight premiership win.
"I reckon Erica, myself and Meg all hugged straight after the siren - we call ourselves the triplets because we all have the same height, the same hair and we're all in the midcourt," she laughed.
"It was a great moment, but it was hard getting there. It was a hard game.
"Something which sticks out is that most of the team has been together through it all (three premierships) and Erica and I were new, but everyone was so welcoming.
"You would have to say it all worked well."
Something which sticks out is that most of the team has been together through it all (three premierships) and Erica and I were new, but everyone was so welcoming.
- Brianna Dalrymple-Monro
A fond farewell
Remarkably, for a player who would leave Sandhurst at the end of 2019 with a trio of A-grade premierships and return home to Wangaratta, finals and grand finals were not always kind to Carly Van Den Heuvel.
The former BFNL inter-league defender still recalls getting smashed in an Ovens and Murray league B-grade (BFNL A-reserve equivalent) grand final, while playing as a goal shooter, before making her way to Bendigo.
Her first experience in finals at Sandhurst came at A-reserve level in 2015, with the Dragons falling to Golden Square by four goals in the premiership decider.
A season later, and now firmly entrenched in the Dragons' A-grade side, which finished the regular season in second spot, two wins clear of third-placed Golden Square, Van Den Heuvel was unfortunate to miss the finals after breaking her elbow in their final round encounter against Kyneton.
Sandhurst would bow out short of an anticipated grand final appearance, with a 15-goal preliminary final loss to the Bulldogs.
When the Dragons finally broke a 10-year premiership drought in 2017, Van Den Heuvel was unfortunate to spend only the opening few minutes on court before being sidelined for the remainder of the game with an ankle injury.
"It was in the first two minutes. I went for my first touch and I tried to get an intercept and I rolled my ankle," she said.
"I seemed to be pretty jinxed. As you could imagine, I was pretty nervous for the second grand final (against Gisborne)."
As one of the few teams to consistently and seriously challenge the Dragons through their three-year premiership reign, Van Den Heuvel said her team-mates knew exactly what they would be up against Kangaroo Flat in last season's grand final.
"They are always that aggressive team that comes out firing every time, and they always take it to us," she said.
"It's always been a bit of a tussle when we've played them, but I think we came into the game with a level-headedness to play our game and not to get too rattled, as they can really rattle you.
"It was close the whole game and I remember looking up at one stage and we were down and then we were up by two, but the whole game you didn't really know what was going to happen until that last quarter."
Entering the game at wing defence at half time and with the scores tied, Van Den Heuvel said she was 'pretty much running on adrenaline' as the Dragons patiently played their way to a two-goal lead at three quarter time, before stamping their authority in the last to win by seven goals.
Now back with her home club Wangaratta Rovers after accepting a teaching position at Galen Catholic College, Van Den Heuvel fondly looks back on her years at Sandhurst as 'the best netball of her life'.
"I didn't have very much success until we had a lot of success," she said
"Nothing can go past that middle grand final (2018), especially the suspense of it all.
"But it was not just the A-grade, the other grades and the success they have had just comes down to the culture they've built out there at Sandhurst and their dedication to two nights a week training and getting around each other.
"It's pretty special what they've got going on out there."
"I think the big shift came when Tam came over to coach with Ollie, they really brought something different that our group needed.
"We were always great mates on and off the court, but they built that kind of family culture.
"I don't know if Tam brought that from North Bendigo, but we really had a shift in that feel on the court in playing for one another."
I didn't have very much success until we had a lot of success.
- Carly Van Den Heuvel
Among a cast of stars at Sandhurst, Van Den Heuvel believed one player stood above all others in her time in the maroon and blue.
"I, of course, have to say Heather Oliver, because she is a Wang girl too," she said.
"All the girls were absolutely remarkable, but seeing her on the court, her athleticism was at the next level.
"Her vertical jump and the way she would take intercepts was amazing to watch.
"Having a baby and then coming back the next year to a win a grand final and be the best on court, you can't fault her. And she can do it at both ends."
Roos courageous in grand final defeat
IT WAS the bravest of grand final efforts from Kangaroo Flat in 2019, but ultimately the Roos fell just short of a fourth premiership for the decade.
The Roos overcame not only the odds, but plenty of adversity to reach the grand final, and were still a live chance of pulling off an upset until deep into the final term, after leading at quarter time and trailing by just two goals at the final change of ends.
Reflecting on the loss, Roos coach Jayden Cowling could not have been prouder of his team's effort.
"Going into the season no one was expecting Kangaroo Flat to be there grand final day, but we thought we had a really good line-up and caused a few upsets along the way," he said.
"We knocked off Sandhurst once and did well against Eaglehawk a few times, but once finals hit we were really excited to give it a real crack.
"Our goal throughout the season was to reach the grand final and we did that."
Asked if there was anything he might have done differently on grand final day, Cowling took a long pause before saying nothing, with the obvious exception of a fit Kate Burton.
The star defender, who started the decade by playing in a grand final with Eaglehawk against Kangaroo Flat, badly injured her ankle in the Roos' qualifying final win over Gisborne, and took no further part in the season.
Her experience and rebound from defence would have proven invaluable on grand final day, as would her leadership.
"It would have been nice to have Kate Burton out there, but other than that I wouldn't have changed anything," he said.
"For some of those girls it was their first A-grade grand final. Ella Wicks played a full game, but was playing 17-and-under the year before.
"Our two goalers Julia (Clarke) and Annie (Spear) were playing A-reserve the year before and that was their first full season in A-grade, so we had a fairly new side going into a grand final.
"At the end of the day, we were really proud to be in a grand final."
Forever gracious in defeat and happy for the success of others, Cowling said a premiership win for the Dalrymple-Monro sisters was a 'nice finishing touch' to a keenly conested grand final.
"You don't hear too often of siblings playing in a grand final - obviously the Ryan sisters (Ashley and Abbey) did it a few times," he said.
"Brianna and Erica are such good players and I've been lucky enough to grow up knowing them both.
"It was a great moment for Erica after having a few seasons in A-reserve, and with Bri coming back to Sandhurst, it was a nice finishing touch.
"It was great seeing them have that moment together."
A three-peat for the Dragons ensured they finished the decade with three flags, equal with Kangaroo Flat, which won in 2010, '14 and '16.
Golden Square won dual-premierships in 2011 and '15, while Eaglehawk (2012) and Gisborne (2013) won one apiece.
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