St Joseph’s and Newtown & Chilwell will play for the Geelong Netball League premiership today (September 26) for the second consecutive season.
In a see-sawing match, Newtown & Chilwell got over the line last year, but St Joseph’s co-captain Tori Honner said that although it hurt at the time, the experience will benefit her team this time around.
“It does still sting in a way, but I think it also fuels us a little bit more,” she said.
“We learnt so much as well, which I think really helps us to prepare and also now knowing it’s not our first one.
“We’ve been here, we know exactly what it’s like and everything’s not as new. We can probably just focus more on the netball rather than all the other stuff that comes with it.”
Joeys will take a lot of confidence from their 46 to 41 win in the semi-final, but Honner knows the Eagles will be primed for the big game.
“I think for us, it’s probably just about playing our game, probably not focusing too much on what they’re doing,” she said.
“They’re obviously an amazing team. We know that they’ve been the benchmark of this competition for over a decade so we respect that, but we also know that we have to really fight and come out there and get the job done.”
Honner’s battle with Joeys’ star goal attack Julia Woolley will be one of the many individual highlights of the game.
“She’s such an incredible player,” Honner said.
“She’s extremely experienced and crafty and just knows what she’s doing, so for me it’s just probably focusing on my strengths as well and going out there and executing that.
“We’ve played against each other for a decade but we’ve also played in the same team together at Geelong Cougars for a few years so we know each other really well.”
Honner’s co-captain and wing attack Emily Post’s potential match-up with Eagles’ star Mia van Wyk also looms as game shaping although van Wyk can also play wing attack and goal defence.
“They’re very different players, but they’re both really good,” Honner said.
“Mia’s obviously very athletic and strong and Emily uses her smarts and her experience.”
It’s a familiar story for Newtown & Chilwell. This will be the Eagles’ 11th consecutive grand final. They won seven in a row from 2013 to 2019, were beaten by Colac in 2022 and 2023 and prevailed over Joeys last year.
The Eagles lost just once in the home and away season, but were beaten by Joeys in the second-semi final before getting the better of a young and improved Geelong West Giants in the prelim.
Co-captain Vanessa Augustini said while the side will take a lot from the loss a fortnight ago, the preliminary final hit-out might have been exactly what was needed.
“Geelong West have done such an amazing job to get to where they did and that was huge for us and we saw that they were good across the board – really strong midcourt,” she said.
“Having that strong hit-out meant that we had to be consistent across four quarters and for 60 minutes, so credit to Geelong West.”
In a bitter blow, Newtown & Chilwell will be without star defender and this year’s Julia Woolley Medallist Ruby Pekin-Schlicht, who is stranded in the UK, where she spends some of her time completing her PhD in regenerative agriculture. Pekin-Schlicht hasn’t played since round 16.
However, the Eagles will welcome back the versatile van Wyk, who missed the prelim while goal shooter Mikaela Vaughan was unavailable for the semi-final. Augustini said Vaughan’s presence last week was a major boost.
“Personally for me, getting our attack end back in form was really important for us,” Augustini said.
“And Mikaela’s such a big piece of that puzzle, so I was pleased.”
Augustini said St Joseph’s was dangerous all over the court.
“I’ve got enormous respect for Joeys, they’ve been outstanding all season and this is their second time in there, so they’re really building each year,” she said.
“I think their defensive end matches up really well against our attack end, so that’s something that we’ll be thinking about leading in. But all across the board, they’re quite strong.
Charity Nasalio is the only Eagle lining up for her first grand final with the club, but it’s not like the star defender is without big game experience having won a VNL Championship with City West Falcons earlier in the season.
“She’s been a huge asset to the team so that’ll be a key difference for us against Joey’s compared to last year,” Augustini said.
GRAND FINALS
Friday September 26, Kardinia Park
A Grade: St Joseph’s vs Newtown & Chilwell, 3.15pm
B Grade: South Barwon vs St Mary’s, 1.05pm
C Grade: St Mary’s vs South Barwon, 11.45am
D Grade: St Joseph’s vs South Barwon, 10.30am
E Grade: Grovedale vs Leopold, 2.10pm
19 & Under: Newtown & Chilwell vs South Barwon, 1.05pm
17 & Under Division 1: Geelong West Giants vs South Barwon, 10.30am
17 & Under Division 2: St Joseph’s vs South Barwon, 11.45am
15 & Under Division 1: Bell Park vs South Barwon, 9.15am
15 & Under Division 2: St Mary’s vs Bell Park, 9.15am
13 & Under Division 1: Bell Park vs South Barwon, 8am
13 & Under Division 2: Bell Park vs South Barwon, 8am
