After being the dominant team in the past two seasons, Riddell finally has a Riddell District Netball League A-grade premiership to show for it.
Having fallen at the final hurdle last season, the Bombers weren’t going to make the same mistake this year against Macedon.
It was the Bombers’ show from midway through the second quarter.
Lauren Close and Christine Harris, who suffered grand final heartache last year, set the tone early in the 51-34 win.
Close was in everything at the defensive end while Harris was converting her teammates’ hard work down the court.
For playing-coach Close, getting a good start was vital.
“It’s fantastic and I can’t wipe the smile off my face,” she said. “We talked before the game about coming out strong, which we didn’t do last grand final day.
“That burnt in our bellies and we brought it on to the court.”
Another key area was shutting down star Cats goaler Bec Colwell.
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“We really worked on our structures from last time we played them and what we did well,” Close said.
“I came out into goal defence in the last bit of that game and it seemed to work. Danni [Davidson] could handle playing on Bec one on one.
“We talked a lot about using our voices and connecting with each other in the ring.
“We had to shut Bec down, that was our main goal.”
Close paid credit to the Bombers’ mid-court players.
Their good hands made it hard for the Cats to move the ball into attack.
A bonus for the Bombers was the experienced Lee Chicas taking to the court after suffering a calf injury in their preliminary final win over Rupertswood.
“The physio gave her the all clear so we were rapt,” Close said.
Harris was the game-high scorer with 34 goals from 47 attempts.
“I had a bit of a chat to her about what some of the issues were the last time we played Macedon, “ Close said.
“She stood her ground, which she’s good at … then she turns and shoots and gets them in.”
Goal attack Mikaela Vaughan was named best on court by the umpires.
The decision to move Vaughan from goal shooter to goal attack in the last part of the season was successful.
“We put the question into Macedon’s minds about whether they would move Kate McLeod out of goal keeper to play on Mikaela,” Close said.
The Bombers stayed with the same line-up for three and a half quarters before bringing on Lauren Anglin and Elyce Carlyle for the final minutes.
For Close, a grand final victory was a stark contrast to last season when she had to watch from the sidelines after knee surgery.
“It was double heartache,” she said. “I did my knee and then I watched us lose a grand final. This feeling is amazing.”
Despite tasting premiership success in her first year as coach, Close says it was anything but easy – to the extent she called on RDNL netball manager Kim Bailey for assistance.
