A new team, a new year, but the same result for Rupertswood’s under-19 netball side in the Riddell District Football League.
The Sharks had gone through the past two years undefeated and entered the grand final on track to make it three perfect seasons.
Facing Macedon, which defeated Riddell in extra time the week before, the Sharks were pushed for the first two and half quarters.
The decision to replace Grace Kavanagh in goals with Danielle [Scardamaglia] in the third term proved to be match-winning.
While the Sharks still led by just two goals at three-quarter time, they had the momentum entering the last stage and kept it, winning 24-19.
Sharks’ coach, Katie Clarke, said the final turned out as they’d expected: a tight, tough encounter.
“We knew against Macedon that they were going to be hard; they’re a quality outfit,” Clarke said.
“It wasn’t unexpected and we knew it would be goal for goal. We just had to make sure we adjusted to the weather and capitalise on every turnover. If we did that, we thought we could come away with it.
“We had to bring in Danni [Scardamaglia] to change it up; they’re tall and very athletic in defence. We just thought the faster-moving circle may change it up and it sort of paid off for us.”
Goal defender Holly Keating was judged best on court, while her sister Lara did the job of shutting down Tara Burnip.
Both Burnip and Lara Keating, who play in A-grade and B-grade respectively, doubled up in the under-19s after both their sides were hit with injuries.
Clarke herself had played on Burnip the week before in the A-grade preliminary final.
“Lara was in our under-19s three years ago,” Clarke said. “Like most teams, we got injuries so she had to come in to assist us in the last half of the year
“Tara and her sister [Holly] were in the under-19s in the first year we played. Tara’s just come on on in leaps and bounds, doing an amazing job in the A-grade team this year. I knew better than anyone that she would be a tough ask for us today, but I thought if we could slow down the feeds coming into her, it would give our defence the best opportunity.”
Clarke said it was rewarding to win a third straight title with yet another bunch of talented young players.
