Tara Murray
Twelve months is a long time for Werribee Centrals in the Geelong and District Netball League.
Last season they suffered grand final heartache, losing by one goal, and it would become a driving force for the side throughout this year.
The experienced line up made it back to finals and while they suffered a one goal loss in the opening round to East Geelong, they were still full of confidence.
On Saturday, the Centurions got a second crack at East Geelong in the finals and they weren’t going to make the same mistakes again.
The Centurions experienced heads stepped up when it counted on Saturday as the club claimed the premiership, 29-23.
Centurions co-coach Hailey Kennedy said it was amazing for the group to come away with the premiership.
“The girls have worked extremely hard this year,” she said. “They’ve been beaten by East Geelong before and the way I saw it, we had nothing to lose.
“We would give everything we could and we were able to come away with the premiership.”
Kennedy, who returned to the club this year, said last year’s grand final lose had been a real motivation for the group all year.
Having had a lot of success, the group didn’t like the feeling of falling short on the biggest stage again and it was a driving factor for the group.
“They walked off last year disappointed and embarrassed by that,” she said. “They didn’t want to walk away feeling like that again.
“They wanted to hold their heads high and win the cup.”
Kennedy said they kept the plan simple with what they wanted to achieve throughout the game, breaking it down into quarters.
She said they just wanted to win each quarter which is what they set about doing.”
“The first half it was a two to three goal margin,” she said. “The gap grew in the third quarter a little bit.
“East Geelong come back at us going into the last quarter. East then started to make mistakes and got tired and we still had the fire in the belly.”
Jenni Rothery shot 18 goals for the Centurions, while Ellie Tubbs shot 11 goals.
Defender and joint league best and fairest winner Amanda O’Malley was awarded the best on ground medal for a second straight year.
O’Malley has been struggling with a back injury, which saw her miss the semi final.
Kennedy said that decision to rest her in the semi final paid off in the end.
“We got her right for the next couple of games,” she said. “She was feeling good and worked away and was best on court.
“She’s an awesome player.”
Kennedy said Melissa Primsall and Natasha Dimkovski were the other standouts as their defence end produced a strong performance.
The premiership was their first A-grade flag since 2018, when they won their fifth flag in six years.
While the group will celebrate the win, questions about the future of the group and whether it’s the end of an era will be raised. Many of the group have been part of those past premiership successes.
Playing co-coach Nicole Weatherley and O’Malley have both hinted at retirement in interviews to Star Weekly this year.
“I don’t know if it’s the end of the era for the group,” Kennedy said. “We’re getting a little bit older and some might change into a coaching role, I don’t know what they’re going to do.
“Jenni hurt her knee or achilles in the final quarter and was in a fair bit of pain and injuries make it hard.”
For the Centurions, the good news is that the next generation is coming through as they look to continue their success.
Their under-19 side completed the perfect season to win their second straight premiership, beating Anakie, 34-19.
Isabella Marsh was awarded the best on ground medal.
Kennedy said the future is exciting.
“Another great premiership by them,” she said. “Most of the girls are able to stay in that competition still for next year as they haven’t aged out.
“Most will come back and nurture as a club. They’re building towards something.”
