By Justin Flynn
It seems fitting that two Bellarine Netball League powerhouses will again contest this year’s A Grade grand final.
Geelong Amateur and Ocean Grove are the league’s heavyweights and have a fierce, but respectful rivalry.
Ammos have lost just once this season, to Ocean Grove in round 15 by two goals. Ammos won the two other encounters, by 26 goals in round four and by four in the second semi-final two weeks ago.
The game will feature the two best goal shooters in the competition, and perhaps two of the best of all time.
Geelong Amateur’s Ruby Watson has a record-breaking 1113 goals this season while Ocean Grove’s Bec O’Neill is up to 968.
Ocean Grove co-coach Candice Parker said her players were “super excited” to be back on grand final day after losing to Ammos last year.
“We hope we can learn from what happened last year and try to go one better,” she said.
“Just working on those combinations and when you are down to the final you know you need to step up.
“We’re pretty evenly matched when you look at height and runners through the midcourt.”
Parker said last year’s grand final experience will stand the players in good stead.
“Some of the other players we’ve brought in have grand final experience,” she said.
“We hope that it’s going to be a tight tussle. We just gave them six goals in the first quarter (of the second semi) and we were down by 10. Having to claw your back against a really good side like that makes it tough.”
Ocean Grove will go in as underdogs.
“We have to be ferocious at the ball,” Parker said.
“We need to create momentum and we can’t let up. We need a full four-quarter effort.”
Ocean Grove has three senior and two junior teams in the grand finals, all playing against Ammos.
“Being able to have some of the seniors and juniors in, it’s a testament to the club at how much we’ve built,” Parker said.
Geelong Amateur coach Mel Savage said the rivalry between the two clubs sets up a potentially epic grand final.
“It’s just an amazing rivalry and what it shows is the tremendous depth of both juniors and seniors in both clubs,” she said.
Ammos have 10 of 12 teams competing in grand finals.
“We’re really excited about the opportunity, and I guess for us in particular, yes it’s about A Grade, but our club is in 10 out of the 12 grand finals – it’s an incredible achievement,” Savage said.
Savage said Ammos go into the clash with a clean bill of health and that playing two matches in four weeks was “neither here nor there”.
“We did match simulation for those two weeks, so we still played a one-hour match at the intensity that we would in a game,” she said.
“I don’t think it hinders us at all. You just get used to it. You know you’re building a session around the fact that you’ve got a week off so you simulate the same match intensity.”
While both sides have champion goal shooters, Savage said it was the defensive aspect of her team’s game that impressed most.
“I think our depth is that we can turn over the ball all over the court,” she said.
“I really think our attackers are extremely good defenders. I know the girls say our best defender in the team is our centre player, Georgia Duncan. She’s incredible. Her uncanny ability to win ball for us in that mid-third is exceptional and I think that we have the strongest defensive line up in the league.
“They will continue to win ball for us because they work tirelessly as a unit. I think that’s the big key factor. We don’t rely on one. I think as a unit defensively we work extremely hard for each other.”
The game, at 3.30pm on Saturday September, is at Newcomb’s Grinter Reserve. It will be streamed live on AFL Barwon TV at aflbarwon.com.au/barwon-media/afl-barwon-tv
