The Murray Football Netball League coached by Tongala A-grade boss Grace Hammond, was within seconds of proving itself the best netball association in Victoria.
At the association championships finals day on Sunday at the State Netball Centre, the side went down by a single goal to the Goulburn Valley league in the open grade grand final, being forced to settle for the silver medal.
“The girls put on a bit of a clinic down in Melbourne, so I couldn't have asked for any more out of them,” Hammond said.
They just played netball and kept it basic all day, and it was really exciting to be able to even make finals considering we’re the Murray league, but the girls really proved what we are capable of as the Murray league and came away with second.”
Hammond’s squad, which featured talent from Tongala, Congupna, Deniliquin Rams, Numurkah, Mulwala, and Finley, was focused on showcasing the league’s young talent.
The Murray squad compiled a record of 4-1-1 in pool one, qualifying for finals in the second.
Games in the association championships are played in eight-minute halves, with the grand final marking the eighth game of the day for squads.
The Murray league’s group stage draw came against the GVL, 15-15, in what would turn out to be a grand final preview, and the decider went down to a near identical scoreline of 15-14.
“When we played them in the rounds, that was just before our bye, it was our second last game, and we started to wear out, but we knew it was going to be tough coming up against them,” Hammond said.
“We stuck with them, it was goal for goal, and we couldn’t really be split.
“A few things we probably could have done differently, but that’s what it is when you play 16-minute games, and then in that final, we were actually one up at half-time.
“Just one or two little errors that were a result of fatigue by the end of the day probably cost us.”
Murray would follow the group stage with a cross pool match against pool two winner Ovens and Murray, defeating the north-eastern league 19-12 in a statement performance.
Hammond approached the league to get the open squad entered into the competition, and said the experience was exactly what she hoped for when she put her hand up.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better day, and the support I had from the league as well, especially (league president) Julie Walsh,” Hammond said.
“She stepped in as my team manager for the day, and not once did I feel like I couldn't coach the way I wanted to.
“The support from Laura Ryan from Numurkah, was awesome.
“I got to lean on her a bit, and they just told me to back myself, which is something I feel I've always done in my coaching, so to be able to step up to that next level of coaching and still have the support and be able to coach how I want to was really good.”
While the GVL’s winning open squad didn’t feature any Echuca players, the Murray Bombers were represented in the 15-and-under team that also took the title, Sarah Head and Lexie Howard both featuring in Kelly Hill’s line-up.
After making it through northern zone qualifying, Echuca District Netball Association’s 13-and-under side had a good showing at the finals day.
After earning a record of 3-2 in the group stage, the squad was unlucky to slip into fourth on goal percentage, going on to defeat Yarra Netball Association in the cross-group play-off to earn a final ranking of seventh in the state.
The Murray 13-and-under team finished 11th.