SANDHURST will get the opportunity to create more netball history after winning its way through to a fifth straight BFNL grand final.
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The Dragons, who were the first club to win four straight A-grade flags following their triumph over Kangaroo Flat last September, advanced to this season's premiership decider with a six-goal victory over Gisborne at the QEO on Saturday.
A keenly-contested 44-38 win continued coach Tamara Gilchrist's team's unbeaten run this season, after they went undefeated through the home and away rounds.
The Bulldogs have come the closest to matching the Dragons' dominance, losing by six goals at Gisborne in round seven, and by the same margin again on Saturday.
Sandhurst will enter the grand final on September 23 remarkably fresh, having played only one game since their round 18 victory over Eaglehawk.
Gilchrist said her players could look forward to plenty of solid match practice in the next two weeks, with the Dragons' A-reserve team providing the competition, after also winning its way through to a grand final with an 11-goal win over Gisborne.
The Dragons have four teams already qualified for grand finals. B-reserve defeated Kangaroo Flat by two goals on Saturday, while the 17-and-under Dragons took care of Gisborne 46-43.
The foundations for a hard-fought A-grade win were laid in a well-drilled opening quarter, after which the Dragons led by six goals, their final margin of victory.
![Sandhurst's Rebecca Smith shoots for goal early in Saturday's second-semi-final clash against Gisborne at the QEO. Picture by Adam Bourke Sandhurst's Rebecca Smith shoots for goal early in Saturday's second-semi-final clash against Gisborne at the QEO. Picture by Adam Bourke](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/j98Hh85wiUB5yeTBh2fLTR/eed7676f-6495-49d3-835f-6c1b68bf690b.jpg/r0_0_5295_3707_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
After again trailing by six goals at half time, Gisborne was able to pull within one goal during the third term, before Sandhurst upped the pressure to stretch their lead to four goals at three quarter time.
With another grand final berth up for grabs, the Dragons seized the moment and momentum to again push their lead out to six goals at the final siren.
Gilchrist was far less concerned with the margin than she was the opportunity ahead for the Dragons, who are attempting to become the first netball team in BFNL history to win five straight flags.
"It was a really hard-fought game and we had to work hard to win it, but it's so exciting to be through to another grand final," she said.
"We know just how lucky we are, so we are just trying to enjoy the ride and embrace every moment.
"It's all absolutely earnt though, nothing has come easy. We've had to do the work to get to where we are.
"Now we hope we can reward ourselves in two weeks' time."
A great all-round team performance was brilliantly led by Dragons skipper Meg Williams in centre.
Gilchrist reserved special praise for star goal keeper Imogen Sexton, who had battled illness all week, but was the Dragons' standout in defence.
"Immi has been crook all week and trained only lightly, but I put her in GK for four quarters," she said.
"Her and Tori (Gisborne goal shooter Tori Skrijel) had a great day; it was really a great battle between them.
"They both played extremely well; Tori is going to be a really great player."
It was another big-time finals performance for Sexton, who was best on court in last year's grand final, and has repeatedly risen to the occasion in the Dragons' biggest games throughout their premiership reign since 2017.
![Gisborne's Tiana Newman Gisborne's Tiana Newman](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/j98Hh85wiUB5yeTBh2fLTR/5eb22198-bab0-4dc0-99bc-58a5ae60e8b8.jpg/r0_20_3065_2424_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
An upbeat Gisborne coach Tarryn Rymer said the Bulldogs were made to pay for a slow start, which she streesed was something teams could ill-afford to do against such a great team.
"They got the jump on us and it took us a while to get firing. But again, if you do that against a team like Sandhurst, they'll punish anyone," she said.
"The girls were happy with their performance compared to the last time we matched up against them (a 16-goal loss in round 16), but there were a few little opportunities that we missed to convert and put a little bit more scoreboard pressure on.
"When you give a team a good start like that, they can play confidently for most of the game.
"Sandhurst have lots of depth in terms of being able to change their combinations around, but I thought our girls really adjusted well to that.
Rymer also praised the duel between Skrijel and Sexton following a tough week away from the court for the young goal shooter, and felt Zoe Davies in defence and Claudia Mawson in attack had led the way on court for the Bulldogs.
"I'm positive; six goals isn't much. But the key is you have to execute every time against Sandhurst, otherwise they make you pay," she said.
"We'll go back to the drawing board and do our best to be back there on grand final day."
The Bulldogs, who will play the winner of Sunday's first semi-final between Kangaroo Flat and Castlemaine in next weekend's preliminary final, have one team already through to a grand final.
Their B-grade team qualified with a stirring two-goal victory over the Dragons.
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