The Macleay Netball Association's season comes to an end this Saturday with their junior and senior competition grand finals being held at the Pam Guyer Netball Centre in Kempsey.
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It will be an exciting day for most of the association's clubs who will have teams represented in both the junior and senior competitions.
Grand final day is what all teams strive for throughout the season and the teams who have made it to their respective grand finals have shown great commitment and have worked hard during the year with the ultimate goal of winning definitely on their minds and in their grasps.
The junior grand finals from the 12 years through to the 15 years will be hotly contested and some great games of netball from the talented youngsters will be on display from 12pm. Their presentations will follow at approximately 1.15pm after their games.
The 2019 junior grand final games are:
- 12 years Crescent Head Seabirds v SWR Seahorses. Umpires - Samantha Brenton and Kalinda Larkins.
- 13 years SWR Swordfish v Fredo Falcons. Umpires - Molly Keast and Karen Lambley.
- 14 years SWR Pearls v Crescent Head Seashells. Umpires - Georgie Murphy and Kate Patterson.
- 15 years Natureland Lightning v Fredo Fireflies. Umpires - Beck Cotter and Zoe Beljaars.
The non-competitive teams consisting of the Suncorp Set, the Go Play and the 11s teams will all get to play three quarter games at 10.30am followed by their presentation at 11.15am to finish off their great seasons.
The senior teams will then take to the courts from 1.30pm with two quality games being played in the Division 2B and 2A competitions.
These divisions have been pretty close all year and they will both be exciting games to watch. It's more than likely these games will come down to the wire with the team who fires up the most and finishes off their goals on the day likely to take the premiership out.
Division 2B Grand Final; Fredo Dizzy Dames v Golden Oldies Opals. Umpires - Sarah Lawrence and Gill Cotter.
Division 2A Grand Final; Natureland Cyclones v Fredo Lassettes. Umpires - Olivia Bailey and Molly Fraser.
The pinnacle of Netball on the Macleay that everyone strives to be a part of is the Division Grand Final which will be played on its own at 3pm after the Division 2A and 2B games.
This year will see a club that's hasn't featured in the Division 1 Grand Final for a long time. The Crescent Head Vipers advanced into the grand final last week after defeating the SWR Corals by 9 points in a great game.
They played a strong consistent game against the Corals who have been one for the front runners of the competition all season.
They were the better team on the day and full credit to the Vipers players on a very successful season and big congratulations to the Crescent Head Club on a great achievement in making the Division 1 Grand Final this year. It's nice and refreshing to see other clubs making it to the top over the years and showing their depth and development.
The Vipers have a hard task ahead of them when they take on the Natureland Thunder who were the first team into the grand final winning their semi-final by convincingly 22 points to 8 against the Corals a couple weeks back and being that they were undefeated for the entire 2019 season so far.
The Natureland team was put together this year made up of some of their senior experienced players combined with their younger players with some new to the club this year.
It has been a something that has worked well for the club and full credit to the players in this team for having a perfect season so far.
Their commitment and team work has been inspirational and only time will tell come Saturday at the final whistle if they can finish of and make it the perfect end to a perfect season. They have some strong players on their team and position wise are very strong in all areas.
They are very good at turning possession over and taking advantage of mistakes made from their opposition and finishing it off in their favour. They are a team you can't afford to make mistakes against and let get to far ahead as they are very hard to chase down once they get a good lead.
The Vipers will throw everything they have at the Thunder without a doubt and will use their own strengths throughout the court to counteract the dominance of their so far, undefeated opponents.
The Vipers have what it takes to match it with the Thunder and to overcome them. To do this though, they will need to control the possession of their ball, finish off their centre passes and stick to their game plan.
They have strength up both ends and in their mid-court that can definitely help them get on top of their opposition.
Their goal shooters have proved to be the strongest in the competition this year especially with their accuracy and that has to be a big positive and strength going into the game for them.
Both teams are strong in all areas of the court which is why this grand final game will be hard fought, top quality and anyone's for the taking.
Division 1 grand final; Natureland Thunder v Crescent Head Vipers. Umpires - Kerry Little and Naomi Fraser.
Grand finals can be anyone's games and the team expected to win doesn't always come out on top, everyone loves an underdog.
That's why this time of year is so great and worth the effort of coming down and watching. If you're looking for something to do this Saturday, get to the courts and cheer all the teams on and watch some great local netball.
The Macleay Netball Association wishes all of the clubs and teams and our top quality umpires officiating the games all the very best of luck this Saturday in the grand finals.
May they all be played in great sportsmanship and enjoyment and may the best team on the day win.
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