LIAM DURKIN
NETBALL
MID GIPPSLAND
By LIAM DURKIN
ONE SECOND.
That was how long it took for Mirboo North to have the Mid Gippsland Football-Netball A Grade premiership snatched from their grasp.
The Tigers were level with Toora right up until the final siren.
With scores locked on 44 apiece, a penalty shot to Alana Manders saw the resulting ball go through the net, giving Toora a premiership after the siren.
It was the Magpies’ first A Grade flag, coming in their first completed season as a MGFNL club.
Fair to say they won’t be forgetting that day in a hurry.
A chilly day enveloped Ronald Reserve at Morwell East for the decider, with Mirboo North entering the match favourites.
The Tigers had won their Second Semi Final against Toora 55 to 49, while conversely, the Magpies only got through to the Grand Final after a nerve-killing two-goal win over Yinnar in the Preliminary Final.
That win did come on Yinnar’s home deck, meaning Toora took some confidence into the match.
Mirboo North started brightly, and if omens were anything to go by, the Tigers had plenty of good ones.
The Tigers had already won B Grade and D Grade earlier in the day, and were hell-bent on completing the trifecta.
Playing-coach Ebony Best worked well alongside the likes of Dani Blair and Jessie Holland during the first quarter.
Best cut a calm figure as she addressed the team at quarter time, as the side set about making further inroads.
Toora, however, refused to go away, and kept persisting, as momentum ebbed and flowed over the next three quarters.
Come the last term, a sizeable crowd had gathered to witness a grand stand finish.
And they weren’t disappointed.
Mirboo North looked to have the game under control when they led by three late in the final term, but Toora again refused to concede, fighting it out until Manders had her crowning moment.
With the cup delivered south, the scorebook said Toora won the premiership by one goal.
What it didn’t say was Mirboo North lost it in one second.
One measly second.
