Contax thrashes Garville by 34 goals in one of the most lopsided grand final wins in history
A RUTHLESS Contax thrashed traditional rival Garville by 34 goals at Mile End on Friday night to record one of the most lopsided grand final wins in Premier League netball history.
A RUTHLESS Contax thrashed traditional rival Garville by 34 goals at Mile End on Friday night to record one of the most lopsided grand final wins in Premier League netball history.
In the clubs’ first meeting in a title decider since 1996, the Blues led by seven at each of the first two breaks then stormed clear during the second half on their way to a 73-39 victory.
Many of Contax’s players were not even born when the club last faced Garville for the premiership, including 16-year-old Georgie Horjus, who won the Marg Angove Medal for best-on-court.
But Leanne Eichler played in that match 21 years ago and by snaring a title from the sidelines on Friday, she joined Angove in having won five premierships as coach of the Blues.
Eichler was “absolutely over the moon” about the result, which also made it back-to-back championships for the team.
“The girls were absolutely amazing and I’m really proud of the group,” Eichler said.
“Everyone did their job and I thought everyone won their position tonight.”
Garville had not played in a grand final since a 10-goal loss to Matrics in 2014, while Contax was playing its fourth in succession – and it showed.
The Greys were jittery in possession from the outset and forced into turnovers by Contax’s all-court pressure.
In contrast, the Blues’ passes were slick, flat and to teammates’ advantage.
“We pride ourselves on the way we move the ball and we just knew if we stuck to our game plan, we were very confident in what we could achieve,” Eichler said.
Former Adelaide Thunderbirds star Carla Borrego offered Garville an outlet option under the ring but the Greys struggled to get the ball to her.
Scoring quickly through the Jamaican helped keep Garville in the contest to half-time as her guile and athleticism shone.
But as the game went on, Borrego’s opportunities dried up and Amehlia Schmidt blanketed her during the second half.
“We knew we couldn’t leave it to Mills (Schmidt) to do the last line of defence, we knew we had to have the pressure,” Eichler said.
“We made a real concerted effort … to make sure they had to work really hard to get to the (goal) circle edge.”
Eichler called Horjus, who made 41/48 (85 per cent) of her shots in her first grand final, “a special kid”.
“She’s an exciting new talent, how long we get to keep her will be another thing because she’s obviously destined for bigger and better things,” she said.
Eichler said her younger players had been made aware of the club’s rivalry against the Greys, which included nine consecutive grand final clashes from 1988-96.
“Once they come through our club they know all about it and they know what it is to be a true blue Contax player,” she said.
“I guess our modern-day rivalry is against Matrics but that old rivalry is still there and you just have to ask Marg Angove and she’ll still tell you.”
Eichler was unsure how many changes there would be to her squad next season but confirmed veteran goal attack Amanda Martin, who mentored Horjus this year, would retire again and Gia Abernethy could be lost to an English club.
Garville coach Jackie Blyth said the result was embarrassing and the performance “probably the worst” all year.
But she was proud of her players for getting to the grand final, which was an improvement on last season’s preliminary final exit.
“It was very disappointing,” Blyth said after the game.
“It appeared they (Contax) wanted it more than us.
“It appeared as though our girls had played their grand final last week and it shouldn’t be like that but it is because we haven’t had enough grand final experience to know how to adapt and behave, and change things up when the going gets tough.
“Let’s hope enough of the girls stay around to know what it feels like if we’re lucky to make the grand final next year.”
