Goal shooting ace Georgie Virgo fires Garville Netball Club to first finals since 1996

GEORGIE Virgo was in ­nappies when Garville last made the State League ­netball finals - now the goal shooter is playing a key role in the club's resurgence.

GEORGIE Virgo was in ­nappies when Garville last made the State League ­netball finals.

Now the 18-year-old goal shooter is playing a key role in the club's resurgence.

Virgo will suit up in Garville's first State League final since 1996 on Thursday, July 25, at Netball SA Stadium.

It will mark a stunning rise for the Dulwich resident and her club.

She is a self-described "underdog" who was playing reserves last year.

Garville, a former powerhouse, was a perennial wooden spooner during the 2000s and widely tipped to be a casualty when Netball SA cut State League teams as part of an August 2010 ­revamp.

It survived but was ­winless in 2011 and finished bottom with three wins last season.

"There's a lot of excitement at the club," said Virgo, who joined Garville from Cougars in 2008.

"I'm a bit young to remember much, but I know back in the day us and Contax ­always fought for top spot.

"There's girls who have been at the club so long and been losing year in, year out (who are) so excited to be in a winning side.

"Everyone has slogged it out for so long and there's ­finally some results."

To say Virgo has had a breakthrough year is an ­understatement.

She took part in Adelaide Thunderbirds' preseason as a member of the club's Thunderbabes development program.

She was in the SA squad which won the Australian under-21 championships in March and was named Most Valuable Player of April's national ­under-19 titles, which the Croweaters also won.

"Once I got to Premier League everything happened all at once," she says.

Despite Garville's lack of recent finals experience, Virgo says the club is not there just to make up the numbers.

"We want to win it (the premiership).

"We've struggled for so long so winning a grand final would lift everyone's spirits."