Matt Hewson
Colac A grade netball side has qualified for its first GFNL grand final in over a decade after a thrilling victory against South Barwon at Windsor Park on Saturday.
The Tigers, down by two goals at half time, took control of the match in the third quarter, outscoring the Swans 13-5.
South Barwon battled hard through the final term in an attempt to reel in Colac, but fell one goal short as the Tigers claimed victory 42-41.
The Tigers, who haven’t appeared in an A grade grand final since 2009, will now face minor premiers Newtown & Chilwell this Saturday to battle it out for the ultimate prize.
Tigers co-coach Jessie Lang said the mood in the camp was high as her side prepared to battle it out with the Eagles this weekend.
“The girls were pretty ecstatic with the win; it’s been a long time coming, our group of girls has been playing together for quite a while now, so it’s a really good reward for sticking together,” Lang said.
“After the last game against South Barwon a couple of weeks ago, which was really close and went to overtime, some of the girls were a bit nervous about how it might go.
“So for them to hold on and win by one goal was awesome, they were stoked.
“I think the girls have shown in the last few weeks they can hold on to those close games and get those gritty wins. Hopefully that will give us the confidence that, if we can stay in it with Newtown this weekend, we can come through and win it.”
Colac has faced Newtown & Chilwell three times this year, twice in the home and away season and again in the second round of the finals series, and lost all three.
Lang said those losses were learning experiences and her players knew what they were up against in this week’s grand final.
“We’ve definitely learnt what playing style works for us against Newtown,” she said.
“Particularly in that last final, while we lost, we got a lot from it and played with a lot of confidence that we probably haven’t had in the last few years against them.
“Obviously they’re going to be tough – they’re the best team in it, they have been for 10 years – so we want to start well and maintain our intensity for that full 60 minutes.
“Their attacking end’s pretty slick; Julia Woolley sets up a lot of their play and Uneeq Palavi can shoot from pretty much anywhere. Our game plan will be to try to score off our centre passes and then whatever our defenders can get us, we’ll try to score off as well.”
