Tracy Village Falcons win enthralling Darwin Netball Premier League grand final over Waratahs
AN enthralling back and forth match-up saw Tracy Village take out the 2021 Darwin Netball Premier League grand final with a narrow 33-32 over a highly competitive Waratahs unit.
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AN enthralling back and forth match-up saw Tracy Village take out the 2021 Darwin Netball Premier League grand final with a narrow 33-32 over a highly competitive Waratahs unit.
It was typically back and forth encounter with the top two sides of the season doing everything in their power to see their side over the line.
Falcons took the early lead showing their pace and precision through centre court to give their shooters Jordan Anderson and Mikaela Sawyer every opportunity.
But they could never break free of Waratahs who responded with runs of their own as Peta Stephans and Sarrita King made crucial intercepts.
And it was that tenacity from Tahs that saw them hit the front late in the second quarter as Tracy Village made errors.
Their lead was drawn out to as much as four points at one stage with Alyce Casilli and Michelle Hann showed plenty of accuracy under the post.
They too could find no way free of the Falcons who bit by bit clawed their way back into the fray with Gemma Henderson and Lauren Pluker in centre court causing plenty of issues.
But it was the work of defenders Ivana Schober and Georgia Luhrs that was perhaps most pivotal for the Falcons with both grabbing pivotal turnovers.
It was still all to play for in the final quarter with the score levelled on multiple occasions.
However, it was Falcons with Dustie Tare in at the scoring end that triumphed with Waratahs suffering the loss of Stephens late in the encounter.
Tracy Village dragged their lead out to two points and though Tahs were last to score that lead was enough to see their home to their second trophy in three years.
“It was epic. We didn’t think we would get there as Waratahs are obviously a really strong team,” Henderson said.
“They beat us in the prelim final so we knew they would be out to get us but we held on and that was an amazing result.
“It was a very close up and down game and when they got up we just knew that we had to dig a little deeper to pull out the result. The crowd was a big factor there.”
Falcons coach Sharon Freeman was overjoyed with the result saying it all came down to how much her girls wanted it in the final quarter.
“I’m so happy. I knew they had it in them and they just had to bring it,” Freeman said.
“At three quarter time it was down to them. They had had to leave it all on the court and they did that so I’m proud of every one of them.
“We just needed a couple of turnovers to bring us back into the game and we were lucky enough that we got them and once we got there we just had to hold it.
“They wanted it bad enough that they worked hard across the court to get the job done. They created the turnovers and looked after the ball when they had it.”
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EARLIER PREVIEW There are sure to be plenty of fireworks when Waratahs and Tracy Village Falcons feed off a season’s worth of hard work and face off in the grand final of the 2021 Darwin Netball Premier League.
The sides have been in the top two for the majority of the year and there’s little separating them on the court.
Tracy Village finished the season as minor premiers after settling into the top spot early on, but it was Waratahs who got the win in the major semi-final two weeks ago.
Waratahs have managed a remarkable rise in 2021 and have put themselves in a strong position to win their first ever premier league.
Captain Sarrita King is calling on her experienced side, including dynamic shooters Alyce Casilli and Michelle Hann, to lift one final time to secure the top prize.
“It’s a really big thing for the club. Since the inception of Premier League we’re yet to take out a grand final, so to get the opportunity is great,” King said.
“My mum (Kate Worden) started this club over 20 years ago. So for me to come back and be made captain, play in a grand final and maybe win this for her has really pumped me up. We missed out on finals last so for our team to have come back and build like this is a tribute to our hard work and dedication.
“I think a large part of our success this year is that we’re all a bit older and a lot of us have played netball our whole lives. We have strength across the court so we just need to back each other up, enjoy our netball and don’t cave under the pressure.
But Tracy Village will be up for the fight after putting away reigning premiers Pints in the preliminary final.
The side last won in 2019 and is trying to make it two premierships from three years with the depth across the club to get the job done.
Georgia Luhrs has been one of the top defenders of the season, feeding plenty of opportunities to her proficient shooters Jordan Andersonn and Mikaela Sawyer.
“It’s really exciting, particularly for the club to have five teams into the grand final,” Luhrs said.
“I haven’t played in an A-grade grand final before, so it will be really exciting to get over the line and celebrate with the other Falcons teams.
“There’s such depth through the whole club which has given us so much more versatility and really added a competition for places.
“All our hard work through the season comes down to this. There’s not much else we can do but play that game to our best.”
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