ON GRAND Final Day, I had the pleasure of watching four fantastic games, and as President, I couldn’t be prouder of the whole club today.
Thank you to the players, coaches, team managers, umpires, parents and the Doncaster and District Netball Association (DDNA).
After many interrupted seasons, altered calendars and modified finals, we welcomed some normality this season after what felt like forever.
In saying that, the battle against illness, injury and “close contacts” raged all season and everyone had to be resilient, flexible, and understanding.
A huge amount of work is done before the girls even attend their first training for the season.
After two years of unparalleled difficulties and a shortage of volunteers being felt across community sport as a whole, there are certainly days when this can be incredibly challenging.
However, today I got to watch all the hard work and emails, late nights and hard conversations, meetings, and organising pay off in the smiles of the Warrandyte players.
The players loving the game is the goal and the reward; I seriously urge anyone thinking about volunteering their time with the club to come and see what you can do to help.
Nothing beats the feeling of watching young kids achieve something they didn’t think they were capable of.
It really is something else.
The Grand Final quartet
Warrandyte’s four finalist teams arrived at the courts to battle it out in their respective Grand Finals, hoping to become Premiers… and what a battle it was.
Tadpoles
At 10am, the U13 Tadpoles took on the EDNC Supernovas.
After a successful, undefeated season despite being rocked by COVID-19 and injury, the almost full team took the court buzzing and ready to go.
The Tadpoles fought hard for the game against good opposition and found themselves down at threequarter time.
In the final quarter, the Tadpoles surged forward, working swiftly, scoring seven goals to the Supernovas’ one in the final term, sealing the win by three points.
Elaria was awarded MVP by the DDNA official watching on, and the entire team received their awards postgame with coach Renae.
It was a hard-fought win.
Final Score: 21 – 18.
Turtles
Also, at 10am on Court 3, the U13 Turtles stepped on court after some final messages from coach Sharon and lined up against their opponents, the Deep Creek Ambers.
The Turtles were relentless in their efforts, never allowing the Deep Creek team a moment to rest.
The energy was high, and it was close right up to the final siren where Warrandyte and Deep Creek found themselves even.
After a moment of heavy breathing, the teams calmed themselves, and the Turtles jumped back on court for a final 10 minutes to determine a winner.
The Turtles kept their composure despite the screaming crowd and rose to the occasion in the match’s final minutes.
The Turtles sealed their victory by a point, and the scenes were awesome to see!
Rosalie was awarded MVP for her efforts in the game.
Final Score: 18 – 17.
Magpies
It was now time for Warrandyte’s U17s to take the court.
The Magpies huddled around coach Lucy for some final pointers, and then on the court they went to face the Deep Creek Jets.
The Magpies didn’t have a clear idea of how this Deep Creek team played as of the two games they played in the home and away season, one was a washout, and the other the Magpies team was severely depleted.
It was close from the starting siren; the talk was loud, and the play was fast.
The Magpies worked swiftly together, and everyone brought their best.
In the final minutes, the two teams were goal for goal, and it became a race against the clock to be the team ahead at the final siren.
With only seconds left in the game, the scores were even, and the ball was shot only to skim the ring and be rebounded by Lilly, who found
the winning point as the final siren sounded.
The MVP went to Eliza for her awesome game.
Final Score: 18 – 17.
Kookaburras
With Warrandyte now three for three, the Kookaburras took to Court 8 against EDNC Eclipse.
The Kookaburras had been busy during the week organising their strategies and their look for the big game, red war paint and braids all
‘round!
The Kookaburras also train whenever they can, in their determination to improve, and their hard work paid off.
Their game was smooth, and their fantastic movement was constant.
Warrandyte’s communication paid off as they could talk and settle the game when they needed it and encourage their teammates as well.
Fired up by the crowd and coach Rachel whose hard work (Coaching not only the U17s but an U15s as well) and insight kept the girls composed and on track to win by the club’s biggest margin of the day!
Imogen was awarded the MVP medal for her great game.
Final Score: 38–15.
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