NETBALL
GIPPSLAND LEAGUE
By LIAM DURKIN
A PREMIERSHIP went back to Tigerland at the weekend.
Morwell Football-Netball Club won the Gippsland League C Grade title, defeating Traralgon in the only local derby of the day, 37 to 34.
The win capped off a memorable finals series for the Tigers, who went undefeated during the post-regular season.
It also avenged last year’s grand final loss.
While Traralgon had the home court advantage, they were drowned out by a vocal Morwell supporter base.
Just about the entire Morwell FNC appeared to be behind the goals at the northern end of the court, brandishing streamers, flags and huge head cut outs of the players.
Morwell had a strong first half, scoring 13 goals in the second term to lead 24-15 at the main break.
Traralgon hit back, its experience really showing through the likes of Rebecca Duddington and Nicole Jennings. The Maroons blitzed the third term, netting 12 goals to five.
The three quarter time break came at a good time for Morwell, who held a slender two goal lead.
That lead proved decisive in the last, as the Tigers held on to win by three.
Each centre pass grew in magnitude the longer the game went, while every rebound was met with equal cheers or groans from respective supporters.
Morwell’s Jacinta Tipping was briefly taken aside by coaches Laura Marino and Hayley Stringer during the hectic final term; her calm presence required to see the job through.
She ended up being named best-on-court, alongside Erin Barlow and crowd favourite Mikayla Couling.
Morgan Adams, Dunddington and Keeley Smith were best for the Maroons.
Morwell supporters flocked to be with the victorious team after the game. Club unity was evident, with A Grade players getting around the club’s newest premiership team.
The Tigers had a balanced side as far as age went, with experienced players well into their 30s, mixed with a sprinkling of players in their mid-to-early 20s, and a few fresh faces straight out of juniors.
The win made it an extra special year for Nadine Soutar, who played her 300th game during the home-and-away season.
Both clubs were congratulated on making the grand final during the presentation, noting the effort of coming from outside the top two in what was an incredibly even final five.
Amazingly, four teams ranked second to fourth all finished on 13 wins.
A draw was enough to give Morwell the double chance, ahead of Traralgon, who had a much higher percentage.
The Maroons had to therefore do it the hard way, winning its first two eliminators by less than three goals.
The winning Morwell team was: Jacinta Tipping (co-captain), Mikayla Couling (co-captain), Lily Campbell, Nadine Soutar, Kassie Alford, Erin Barlow, Isabel Darby, Maeve Knowles and Alana Weston. Coaches: Laura Marino and Hayley Stringer.
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IT would have to be just about the biggest upset of all time.
Drouin shocked the local netball world after winning the Gippsland League A Grade premiership.
The Hawks won a grand final epic over Moe, getting up 75 to 73 in double overtime at Traralgon Showgrounds.
While the Lions and Hawks had been one and two the entire season, no one in their right mind saw this result coming.
That’s probably including some Drouin players.
For the Hawks to have been any chance, they would have needed star shooter Mwai Kumwenda.
In a case of what Moe thought was perfect timing however, Mwai jetted off to Kenya early last week for the the World Cup qualifiers.
The league best-and-fairest winner was required to represent her home nation Malawi.
If Drouin didn’t have Mwai shooting goals at one end, they certainly needed Ebony Mumford stopping them at the other.
In a double-blow however, the Hawks also lost Mumford to injury in the preliminary final.
Talk surrounding the game for most of the week centred on who Drouin had out.
With their goal shooter and goal keeper both missing, there was surely no way known Moe could lose.
This was a Lions team going for four-in-a-row as well, and who was only one player short of being full strength itself.
Speaking to a few neutrals, the view was unanimous: Drouin was no chance. They might as well have engraved the cup with Moe’s name on it before the game.
As history is littered with however, a grand final is not won until the day.
A small field creates a 50/50 contest.
And as Moe found out, Drouin’s perceived weakness actually became its greatest strength.
With so much focus going to Mwai during the season, her absence allowed Charlize Traumanis to step up.
Traumanis is a state goaler, and she ended up shooting 53 goals in the grand final. Veteran Stacie Gardiner also moved into the ring, and shot 22 in a best-on-court performance.
With two of their best players out, the Hawks simply moved everyone up a line.
They needed three players to double up from B Grade just to fill a bench. This in a grand final mind you, not a regular season game.
Brooke de Riter, Leilani Lighttowler and Sarah Roughead all found themselves in the right place at the right time. The trio won two premiership medals in one day, after the Hawks also won B Grade against Leongatha, 37-35.
The A Grade match seemed to be going to script in the first half.
Moe shot 21 goals to 10 in the second quarter, to lead 33-25 at the main break.
Drouin however shot 17 goals to 10, as the Lions started to show the first signs of jitters across the court.
An intense final quarter played out, with teams going goal-for-goal.
Scores were level at fulltime, 57 apiece.
Moe won the first period of extra time 6-5, yet netball requires a team to win by two goals in extra time for the scores to count and the game to end.
The Hawks found the extra three goals needed to do such, winning the second period of overtime 13-10 to see a different Gippsland League A Grade premier for the first time since 2022.
Ava Gaul was prominent for Drouin, working alongside Gardiner and Traumanis.
Gardiner added another premiership to her collection. As long as netball has been played at Drouin, the name Stacie Gardiner appears to have been as well.
Ash Mawer shot 61 goals for Moe. League MVP Jordan Pyle also played well, as did Georgia Moody.
Moe lost just one game leading into the grand final, which came early in the season against Drouin.
The result will surely sting for Moe, who looked all but certain to become the first top tier team in the league’s history to win four consecutive premierships.
Despite finishing on top of the ladder, the Lions faced a few challenges this season, with the roster changing week-to-week. Most of Moe’s players were either on higher duties or injured this season, requiring second-year playing-coach Alex Moody to showcase some serious adaptability.
