Tara Murray
Gisborne pulled off a remarkable last five minutes to snatch the Bendigo Netball League premiership from the clutches of defeat.
Four-time reigning champion Sandhurst seemed destined to make it five in a row late in the fourth quarter of the grand final on Saturday at Queen Elizabeth Oval.
The undefeated Dragons had been up by five goals for much of the last quarter and the Bulldogs were on the back foot.
For the young Bulldogs line up didn’t give up. Despite being five goals down with five minutes to go they started to chip away.
Things started to go their way and the margin started to close. With 30 seconds on the clock the Bulldogs took the lead having scored the last six goals.
With the centre pass to come, they were able to hold onto the ball, to win the premiership 40-39.
Bulldogs coach Tarryn Rymer said it was an incredible feeling to achieve that result.
“We are ecstatic,” she said. “I’m so proud of the girls for pushing to the front in the dying seconds of the game, it was brilliantly crafted.
“They have earnt it. They worked so hard all season to get the ultimate reward, I didn’t expect that.
“I knew they were capable of it, they kept pushing and getting better and better.”
Rymer said the first key for them heading into the match was making sure they got off to a good start.
The Dragons had usually got control of the game early, with the Bulldogs having to do the chasing. The closest the Bulldogs had come to the Dragons was in the second week of finals.
“We started well,” Rymer said. “We knew that we wanted to do that and keep with them and keep the pressure on them.
“We started with the first four goals and you could tell in the first five minutes they had turned up to play.
“We were up at half time.”
The Dragons found another gear in the third quarter to take the lead and put the pressure back on the Bulldogs.
The margin was two goals at the final change and then became five goals.
Rymer said there were a few nerves on the side lines as the game seemed to be getting out of reach. Star defender was struggling to put pressure on her foot for parts of the last quarter, throwing more into the mix.
“It’s not over until the final whistle,” she said. “I knew we had to put our foot down, which I was hoping they would do,
“It’s easy to fade away in the last quarter. We kept doing what we had been doing and had a crack.
“A few things went our way and a few turnovers and 30 seconds left we were in front.”
Rymer was counting down the clock in the last 30 seconds as the girls were able to hold onto the ball and ensure the win.
Goaler Claudia Mawson was named best on court for her performance.
The premiership is the club’s second A-grade premiership, 10 years after their first one.
Midcourter Tiana Newman was in that team making her a two-time premiership player. Rymer was also part of that team.
For the Bulldogs this year, it was the start of a new beginning with a number of changes in the off season with that next generation coming through.
“We had a few players turn over with other commitments,” she said. “There was so much belief and improvement.
“Tori Skrijel from the under-17s and building that connection with Claudia.”
It was a mixed day for the Bulldogs with their under-17s also claiming the premiership, while their A-reserve and B-grade both suffered losses.
Rymer said the under-17 match was as thrilling as the A-grade game.
“They were down all day and got a few turnovers and the scores were level,” she said.
“They were asking how long was left and it was 10 seconds and it was our centre pass. Bella Connors at the top of the circle made the shot. If anyone could have made the shot it was Bella.”
Rymer said while they would have loved to have claimed all four premierships, the two premierships they won were a credit to the whole netball program.
“Without the depth to push the others, we don’t win,” she said.
The Bulldogs under-18.5 footballers also tasted premiership success on Saturday.
