By Justin Flynn
East Geelong’s semi-final loss to Winchelsea was a wake-up call and the motivation it needed to reverse the result during last Saturday’s grand final according to coach Justine Radford.
The Eagles went on to win the Geelong & District Netball League A Grade premiership with a 33 to 27 victory against Winchelsea on Saturday September 14 after losing the semi by a goal.
However it was more the way in which her side lost the grand final qualifier that annoyed Radford, labelling it as “disappointing”.
East Geelong held a four-goal lead with two minutes remaining, but the Blues hit back to be in front at the final buzzer.
“To Winchelsea’s credit, they obviously got up and about to win that game,” Radford said.
“Not be able to maintain that lead or just keep possession of the ball. So (the grand final there was a) big focus on keeping the ball when we have it in our hands and just remaining composed and being smart with the ball, not rushing to score a goal, but just making sure we look after it.”
Both finals were relatively low scoring, something that Radford attributed to each team’s defensive capabilities.
“Every time we play Winchelsea the score is like that,” she said.
“We both have huge defensive units and there’s a lot of ball down in that defensive end so it does go up and back a fair few times and it’s a little bit more difficult for both teams to score. And that’s a credit to Winchelsea’s defence and obviously our defence.”
While East Geelong knows what it is like to constantly play in grand finals, Radford said premierships are very difficult to win.
“I think for me as a coach, I just look at it as another game of netball, but it’s about the girls really and the mentality and the nerves and the anxiety that they have going into that game,” she said.
“I think in order to win a grand final, you have to be aware of the fact that you could possibly lose it, and I think that kind of takes the nerves and the anxiety out of the game. We don’t ever go into a grand final expecting to win it regardless of where we finish on the ladder. If we finish first, second, third, whatever it is, we know that it’s the team that performs on the day that’s going to win.”
Eagles’ goal attack Mary Waldron was judged best on court.
“Mary’s brilliant – I actually gave her coaches award this year,” Radford said.
“She was up there with the best, however, all of the girls played really well on the weekend. It was some of the girls’ best games for the season.”
GRAND FINALS
A Grade: East Geelong 33 def Winchelsea 27. Best: East Geelong – Mary Waldron, Bronte McConnachie, Stephanie Boyce. WInchelsea – Meg Royal, Katrina Biscan, Ebony Berg. Best on court medal: Mary Waldron (East Geelong).
B Grade: Werribee Centrals 28 def Inverleigh 26. Best: Werribee Centrals – Amanda O’Malley, Ashlee Brunato, Mia Bruce. Inverleigh – Nicola McLennan, Sierra Cook, Beth Long. Best on court medal: Amanda O’Malley (Werribee Centrals).
C Grade: Inverleigh 29 def North Geelong 26. Best: not supplied. Best on court medal – Tegan McPhail (North Geelong).
D Grade: Inverleigh 40 def East Geelong 23. Best: Inverleigh – Kealy Parke, Bentia Eygenraam, Lauren Wheeler. East Geelong – Donna Steele, Kellyanne Sheahan, Marli Cooke. Best on court medal – Kealey Parke (Inverleigh).
19 & Under: Werribee Centrals 22 def East Geelong 14. Best: Werribee Centrals – Bella Mountain, Charlize Borg, Charli Hocking. East Geelong – Bridie Curran, Asha Robertson. Best on court medal – Charli Hocking (Werribee Centrals).
17 & Under: East Geelong 20 def Bannockburn 18. Best: East Geelong – Sylvie Jarvis, Frankie Willson, Lua Payne. Bannockburn – Charlotte Scanlon, Emma White, Maggie White. Best on court medal – Sylvie Jarvis (East Geelong).
15 & Under: East Geelong 28 def Bannockburn 19. Best: East Geelong – Georgie Willson, Mikayla Ferguson, Samara Craig. Bannockburn – Alicia Thompson, Indianna Tait. Best on court medal – Mikayla Ferguson (East Geelong).
13 & Under: Bannockburn 29 def Inverleigh 11. Best: Bannockburn – Indianna Tait, Marli Levy, Laura Heenan. Inverleigh – Indi Gundry, Olive Cruden. Best on court medal – Indianna Tait (Bannockburn).
