The return of goaler Kim Hammond after a debilitating knee injury in round 1 is a key reason for Geelong Amateur’s late-season dominance this season according to co-captain Keisha Guilmartin.
Hammond missed 14 games and only returned on limited minutes in round 15 before being rested for the round 17 clash against grand final opponents Ocean Grove.
Hammond came on at quarter time in the second semi-final against Grove and immediately changed the game, shooting 38 goals to help Ammos earn a direct path into the decider at Grinter Reserve on Saturday.
It will be the fourth consecutive season that these two teams will meet in a grand final and Amateur’s 10th straight. Ammos won in 2022 and the Grubbers are going for a three-peat.
“We lost Kim in the first round and that was a massive loss for our team at the start of the season when you’re trying to come together and gel,” Guilmartin said.
“So getting her back towards the end of the year, that’s a massive difference for us. She’s fighting fit now.”
Kayla Donnellon stepped up in Hammond’s absence and proved to be an excellent replacement with 462 goals for the season.
“She’s (Donnellon) had a spectacular season and has shot volume goals for us the entire year and been unbelievable really,” Guilmartin said.
“We started with Kayla in the last game and hopefully we’ll get a chance to put her on the court this weekend. We’ve done a lot of work around how we can strategise to get around those big hands that are in that goal defence end for Ocean Grove.”
Guilmartin said having a full list to choose from and an electric midcourt led by Georgia Duncan and coach Kaitlyn Sheringham would go a long way towards winning this weekend.
“We’ve got everyone back in full form and that’s the fastest midcourt I’ve ever seen or been a part of really,” she said.
“I blink sometimes in the backline and I kind of miss it and the ball’s already in the goal circle. It’s pretty awesome to watch.
“We tried a lot of things during the season, a lot of combinations because we’ve got fantastic depth in the team, just to see what works best and it’s come together nicely at this time of the season.”
Guilmartin, one of the competition’s best defenders, said she expects to start on young gun Arlee Bennett on Saturday. Elise Boyer and Jade Merry will probably be assigned one of netball’s toughest tasks – playing on Zanna Woods.
“I’ll probably be on Arlee, I imagine,” Guilmartin said.
“But they (Ocean Grove) might mix it up like they did the last game and things aren’t working. You’ve got to change it so we’ll be ready for anything.”
Ammos have been unbeaten up until grand final day for the past two seasons, but fell at the last hurdle to Grove both times.
Guilmartin said revenge wasn’t really a factor going into a fourth consecutive decider against the Grubbers.
“It is completely different, we’ve got a really different team to what we have in the past,” she said.
“So it does have a different feel about it this year. Obviously, for those who did play last year, it is in the back of the mind and we want to correct it, but there’s a lot of newbies in the team that just haven’t felt that loss that we had last year. The energy’s really good around the club.”
Ocean Grove won its first 16 games this season, but have since lost to Ammos twice – in round 17 and in the second semi-final.
Injuries to co-captain Emily Moroney, goal attack Ashton O’Brien and defender Amanda O’Malley played some role in a late season dip in form.
“We’ve had a few injuries across the entire season, which kind of ebbed and flowed with our momentum,” Moroney said.
“We’ve only had a few games where we had a full list available. After that round 17 loss it was a good wake-up call for us to realise we need to be able to play four quarters, 60 minutes of consistent good quality netball. You can’t really get away with just playing three quarters against Ammos.”
O’Malley has been battling an ankle injury for about a month and was forced from the court in the last quarter of Ocean Grove’s epic preliminary final comeback win against Torquay.
“She tweaked it on Saturday, the same one she tweaked a few weeks ago,” Moroney said.
“Not ideal leading into a grand final, but one game to go, so hopefully she’ll strap it up, put another ankle brace on and see how she goes.”
If O’Malley struggles to get up for the game, or is hampered by that ankle injury, Ocean Grove can turn to Emma Jones or Gemma Bell. Jones has made a late-season push into the A Grade side and with the club’s B Grade eliminated from the finals in week two, it meant she was able to come on late in the preliminary final and will be ready to go if needed on Saturday.
“She (Jones) definitely has the talent to play A Grade,” Moroney said.
“Unfortunately for her, she hasn’t been able to make the B Grade grand final, but we’ve been lucky to snap her up and we might have to use her (on Saturday).”
Moroney switched from her usual wing attack in Saturday’s prelim to play out the second half at centre. Whether Moroney or Georgia Ryan start on star Ammos centre Georgia Duncan remains to be seen.
“It was a hot day…I was a little bit nervous going into the centre, but it was good,” she said.
“I think it just allowed Georgia Ryan to change it up. She was able to hold a little bit better in that wing attack position. It allowed me to run around and just stick a little bit tighter to Kiralee (Collings) and it was a nice little change.
“I do really enjoy the change and it might be something we look at this weekend if we need to.”
Ocean Grove has had to make do with a smaller squad this year, which has had coach Mel Holmes searching for ways to change things up, often during a game, but Moroney said having continuity was one of the silver linings.
“I think a smaller squad just means that everyone has that opportunity to take the court and it allows us all to play our role,” she said.
“We all know our roles and if we can’t feel like we’re doing it, we can still make a change. Obviously in terms of injuries, it’s not the best, but we’re all fit and healthy.
“The smaller squad has been nice. We’ve been able to really connect with each other.”
GRAND FINALS
Saturday September 13, Grinter Reserve, Newcomb
A Grade: Geelong Amateur vs Ocean Grove, 3.15pm
B Grade: Geelong Amateur vs Anglesea, 1.05pm
C Grade: Torquay vs Ocean Grove, 11.45am
D Grade: Barwon Heads vs Geelong Amateur, 10.30am
E Grade: Geelong Amateur vs Ocean Grove, 2.05pm
19 & Under: Drysdale vs Portarlington, 10.30am
17 & Under Division 1: Ocean Grove vs Geelong Amateur, 9.15am
17 & Under Division 2: Geelong Amateur vs Torquay, 1.05pm
15 & Under Division 1: Geelong Amateur vs Torquay, 11.45am
15 & Under Division 2: Torquay vs Ocean Grove, 8am
13 & Under Division 1: Torquay vs Geelong Amateur, 9.15am
13 & Under Division 2: Ocean Grove vs Geelong Amateur, 8.30am
