Rupertswood has finally broken its finals hoodoo in the Riddell District Netball League.
Having lost every A-grade finals match in its three years in the competition to date, the win against Lancefield on Sunday couldn’t have come soon enough.
Although the Tigers fought hard in the first half, only trailing by three goals at the main break, the experience of the Sharks shone through in the second half.
Rupertswood shot away for its 54-35 win.
Sharks’ coach Di McCormack was relieved to have finally bagged a finals win.
“The monkey is off the back,” she said.
“We were up by three goals a few times in the first half, but we really got into it in the second half.
“Once we hit out straps in the third quarter, we never looked back.
“The girls played a solid strong game, after adjusting to some nerves.”
The Sharks were thrown a curve-ball before the game, with sickness ruling out a couple of players.
“Ebony Lyons had gastro, while Sara Febo was sick as well,” the coach said.
“Ailish [McCormack] had rolled her ankle and had only got the go-ahead from the physio the day before, and was a little bit proppy.
“Emma Wright also missed the game with injury.”
This meant Maddi Gay had to play wing defence, not a position she is familiar with.
“She isn’t as strong in wing defence as she is in other positions, but she was really strong on court,” McCormack said.
The injuries also meant under-19 player Eloise Freeman got court time in the third quarter.
After struggling with windy conditions the week prior, the Sharks handled similar weather much better against the Tigers last weekend.
“I gave Alex Maher the three votes; she was the best shooter on the court. I was able to get all three goalers on, which was really good,” McCormack said.
“Maher shot 26 goals from 27 attempts and the defensive duo of Tess Abbott and Kirsten Daly really stood up in the second half.
“After half-time, they had worked out what they needed to do, and everything seemed to click for them,” she said.
For the Tigers, Savaii Williams shot 22 goals.
The Sharks will now face Riddell in this weekend’s preliminary final after Macedon surprisingly beat the Bombers last weekend.
When the Sharks faced Riddell for the qualifying final only two weekends ago, the Bombers won 51-25. “We have to come with a better mental side of things,” McCormack said, anticipating a tough contest.
“We have the skills, we just need to believe in ourselves and not get down when we are trailing.”
