Swanpool FNC netball report:
It was Sunday night (6th September) and I was having a reflective moment about our A Grade girls’ brilliant fight to win a Grand Final berth. Then it dawned on me, this will be the last report for the BDFNL ever! The pressure to write something that will become a little piece of history! I’ve been writing reports for our netballers for the last three years, sometimes I am organised and I get it done in plenty of time, other times (most times) I am rushing it through the system in between trying to work. It was never something that I put too much emphasis on, I just needed to make sure that I wrote about the game accurately and mentioned all the best on court performances etc etc.
So what to say now, I definitely will talk about the A Grade match - it was too good to leave out. We must thank our sponsors, committee members, canteen ladies, umpires, trainers and support staff, that’s a definite, our other coaches, Julie James, Brooke Bradshaw, Doc and Matho and the mums and dads that are there every weekend, and our girls, what an effort – a sensational, amazing, gutsy season. They have worked towards this moment for the last three years, each year we have managed to get two out of the three teams across the line, but this year they have done it, training since January, twice a week without fail, six laps of the oval for warm ups and an hour and a half to two hours training each session. There is no other that deserves to take that court today as much as our girls. Congratulations on getting there, we all await with baited breath the final results. Win, lose or draw you are the best to us.
A Grade win in a thriller …
Our girls were determined to take that court and rock Tatong from the start. I said last week that our A graders were in for the fight of their lives…… and fight they did. The first quarter saw Bec Bradshaw go down in the first crucial minutes, and come off with what seemed to be a slightly strained ankle (we later discovered she has broken a bone!!!). But tough stuff is what these girls are made of, and continue on the remainder of the team did. Nothing was going to take their focus from the game. It was goal for goal in the first quarter, with Swanpool gaining a slight advantage going into the break. This held them in good stead for the second quarter.
There was not a member of the team that didn’t stand up and be counted on Saturday, Brooke Bradshaw and Sally Burgess fought hard down the attacking end, making each goal count, and with Kellie Holmes and Bec Matho playing like they were twins, reading each others minds, and backing up constantly, every player on the court knew this day was theirs for the taking. Mel Walker played a brilliant game in Wing Defence - a tough ask when you are thrown onto the court in the middle of a quarter, but she never missed a step, vital in our centre court, available for every required pass and applying equal pressure in her defensive role.
The defenders were pushed all week at training, they had the toughest task ahead of them. Our Little Dinosaur Meagsy played like tyrannosaurus rex, and Skipper Jones gave it everything she had, swooping down like a hawk on the Tatong shooters. These two girls were vital in turnovers and certainly held up their end of the bargain where team work is concerned.
It was down to the final quarter and Swanny nearly had it all wrapped up, but finals are funny things, and in the dying minutes of the game Tatong made an attack. There was 1 minute and 57 seconds on the clock when Kell Holmes took a tumble and needed to call time for the blood rule, Swanpool 2 points up, after going into the quarter with a 5 point lead. The ball is in Tatong’s end of the court, they shoot, they score, there is now only 1 point the difference and 30 seconds left on the clock – this seems like a small amount of time – but on Saturday it felt like an hour, but its OK because we have the ball in our shooting ring, the shot goes up, it misses, Tatong get the rebound, all eyes on the lady with the clock, what to do, there can’t possibly be anytime left, stand up woman, and finally she does, not a moment too soon. A Grade win by 1 point over Tatong. A very very special thankyou to Ingrid Maple, our leading goal shooter who sat and watched the entire match from the sidelines, that is what team work is really all about! Swanpool Football Netball Club have 3 netball teams and 1 football team into the Grand Final – 4 out of 5.
In conclusion we say farewell, goodbye BDFNL, welcome to the future, stand behind your clubs, and good luck to each and every one of you………………….. and oh yes, how could I forget………………. JUST SWAN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
