A Reserves
Mallee Eagles v Balranald
(Court 1 – 1.20pm)
IT will be a grand final rematch for the ages when the Mallee Eagles and Balranald clash in tomorrow’s A reserves grand final.
After falling one-goal short of the Eagles in last year’s decider, the Roos went through this year’s home-and-away season undefeated and determined to redeem themselves.
But season injuries to goal defence Jordyn Jolliffe and wing defence Shanay Barry prior to this year’s finals series saw Balranald falter in the semi-finals, forcing them to take on Woorinen in the preliminary final.
Last Saturday was yet another learning curve for the Roos, according to co-coach Jess Parry, with Balranald having to come from five goals behind at half-time to make it through to tomorrow’s decider.
“It hasn’t been the perfect finals for us, but considering the back end of our season and the significant injuries we’ve had, I think we’ll in with a good chance tomorrow,” Parry told The Guardian this week.
“We said after the semi-final loss that we thought playing in the prelim would be the best thing for us, providing we got through it, because it would give us extra court time for our new combinations to gel, which would be worth its weight in gold.
“Now that we know that we’re there, we couldn’t have asked for a better run to the finals.
“We have some really talented players and it’s one of the reasons why we’ve run as an A grade squad this season, just because of the depth and talent that we have.
“There’s no way we could have picked a set A grade team at the start of the year with the level of talent and depth we have, and the girls have proven how good they are having stepped up and also performed in the A grade team throughout the season too.”
League best and fairest Bec Harvey will be a key player in the Roos attacking third, along with Macy Lloyd, with Sarah Young, Milly Saville and Amy Jobling expected to be given the task of quelling the dominant Balranald shooters.
At the other end of the court, Gemma Miller will be a player to watch for the Eagles in the ring, having spent considerable minutes in the A grade team following the season ending injury to A grade goal attack Kasey Torr, with the Eagles also needing a big game from midcourter Dakota Meehan.
Like most grand finals, I think it will come down to the team that executes the basics and stays disciplined the best that will win,” Parry said.
“When you get to this time of year, both teams are full of talent and both teams are capable of playing really strong netball.
“But there’s that game day pressure in a grand final and I’ve always felt that the team that can handle the pressure and get the basics and the discipline right for the longest will be the team that comes out on top.”
Although Balranald have been the team to beat all season, form and injuries are going against them at the wrong time of the year, with the Eagles now favourites to go back-to-back.
Tip – Mallee Eagles to win by three goals.
