By Russell Bennett
WGFNC – GRAND FINAL REVIEWS – NETBALL
Dalyston’s fierce netballing rivalry with Korumburra-Bena was already the stuff of legend prior to Saturday at the Wonthaggi courts, but what transpired on the final day of the 2017 season has elevated the long-standing conflict to even greater heights.
The Giants went through their 2016 A Grade campaign undefeated until getting cut down to size by the Magpies in the decider by just three goals – 37-34.
Leading into 2017, Korumburra-Bena had won four of the past five Alberton league A Grade premierships and featured in the past seven grand finals – the bulk of those against Dalyston.
This year brought about the dawn of a new era – one with the new challenges of the 10-team West Gippsland Football Netball Competition.
But the more things change, the more they stay the same. Over the course of the season the Giants and Magpies proved their greatness all over again, with champion Korumburra-Bena player coach Christie Hillberg winning her seventh league best and fairest award before her 26th birthday.
Her side was the raging hot favourite for the A Grade title on Saturday with Dalyston forced to book their place the hard way via a three-goal preliminary final win over Phillip Island, 32-29.
But the Magpies had learned some harsh lessons from their rivalry with the Giants and came prepared on Saturday. Their pressure and physicality right from the outset was particularly telling in front of a large, vocal Dalyston supporter base.
Hillberg was warned by the umpires at the end of the first quarter, with any subsequent warnings set to result in time on the sidelines.
The vocal Magpies fans were right behind their side from the opening whistle to the last which only served to heighten the tension.
While Hillberg had her hands full at goal defence with the combative and equally as competitive Britt Thomas, Dalyston skipper and Britt’s sister Jarney shone at goal shooter – making netting the first goal of every quarter and really setting the tone for her team mates in a brilliant eight-goal win, 34-26.
Dalyston was up 19-10 at half-time before the Giants made their inevitable run.
But the Magpies held their nerve right across the court – with stalwart Tess Angarane holding the fort brilliantly in the last line of defence.
For the second time as many seasons, the Giants had made it through to the decider undefeated before stumbling at the final hurdle.
“I believed that because we’d had to work so hard to get here (to the grand final), it just made us more hungry,” Magpies coach Jenny McRae said immediately after the clash.
“We’d had to change our game plan, which we did, and today you could see that I don’t think Korumburra was expecting it.”
McRae explained that the Magpies planned to implement a high-pressure game all over the court to stymie the Giants’ free-flowing ball movement.
“We knew what we had to do and we were able to do it,” she said.
“Even when we came across Phillip Island last week we knew they played a similar game style to Korumburra and they were always ones to play fast and we knew we had to slow that down.
“That’s what we did – we slowed it down and went back to basics like little kids; stop, balance, and then go on to the ball.”
Saturday was made even more special for McRae whose daughters Alana, Grace, Hannah, and Jessica made up almost half the Dalyston side.
“To have your four daughters play in the one game is pretty amazing,” she said.
“I’m stoked – I’m flattered.
“I’ve got my two nieces as well. It’s a great club – it’s a real family club, and everyone works so hard. Over the years we’ve got a bit of curry because these players go up (to A Grade) but you can see that they deserve to be there.”
McRae was full of praise for Jarney Thomas’ superb, best-on-court display in attack.
“In the last few weeks she’s really applied herself,” she said.
“You could see with the way she shot she just got more confident and uses her body well. She played amazingly.”
McRae admitted that this was potentially the first year Thomas hadn’t been intimidated or overawed by the likes of Christie Hillberg on the opposing side.
“Other years I believe – just watching – she has to a certain degree but this year was more about the mental side than the physical,” she said.
“In terms of fitness we’re probably on a par with Korumburra but I just believed we had to get over it mentally.
“It’s always been a mental thing with the Christie Hillbergs and those players.”
But McRae and her side always believed throughout this campaign that they had the ability to go back-to-back. Oddly enough, it was their patchy form at times that contributed to that.
“We hadn’t been playing that well, and like anything you have a couple of hiccups along the way, but we’ve dug deep and just chipped away and this is where we’ve ended up,” she said.
The other real highlight of the day on the netball courts came in the very first clash of the schedule – the local rivalry between Cora Lynn and Kooweerup.
Astoundingly, for the fourth time this season the two 13-and-under sides were deadlocked on 19-19 at the end of the fourth quarter. They both walked away with draws from their Round 4 and Round 13 clashes before Cora Lynn won their semi-final 26-23 in extra time and repeated that effort – again in extra time – 23-22 on Saturday.
The two outfits could barely be split all season but on the Wonthaggi courts 11-year-old Lexi Schade shone through the gloomy conditions, with the goal attack nailing a series of clutch shots to see her Cobras over the line.
In day’s other grand final action, Korumburra-Bena defeated Phillip Island by 10 goals in the 15-and-Unders, 32-22; Dalyston was too good for Inverloch Kongwak in 17-and-Under, 33-24; while Dalyston also won the C Grade battle – this time over Kooweerup, 28-22. The rivalry between the Magpies and Giants also extended to the B Grade encounter, this time with the Giants winning by 10 goals – 51-41.
NETBALL
A GRADE
Dalyston 34 def Korumburra-Bena 26
Best on court: Jarney Thomas (Dalyston)
B GRADE
Korumburra-Bena 51 def Dalyston 41
Best on court: Jaimie-Lee Jeffs (Korumburra-Bena)
C GRADE
Dalyston 28 def Kooweerup 22
Best on court: Emma Ton (Dalyston)
17 AND UNDER
Dalyston 33 def Inverloch Kongwak 24
Best on court: Gemma Thomas (Dalyston)
15 AND UNDER
Korumburra-Bena 32 def Phillip Island 22
Best on court: Darci Holmes (Korumburra-Bena)
13 AND UNDER
Cora Lynn 23 def Kooweerup 22
Best on court: Teegan Thornhill (Kooweerup)
