Dragons rapt to be back on grand final stage

SANDHURST coach Tamara Gilchrist is hoping her players’ big game experience will be a telling factor in this Saturday’s BFNL A-grade final against Kangaroo Flat.

The Dragons will be chasing their first premiership since 2022 – the last in a four-peat of flags – when they take on the unbeaten Roos.

Their aforementioned experience came to the fore in last Saturday’s preliminary final victory over reigning premier Gisborne, with the Dragons turning a one-goal three-quarter time deficit into a five-goal triumph.

Little had separated the two teams all day, despite Gilchrist conceding the Dragons were well below their best for a large portion of the game.

But a stirring final quarter has given them a chance at a 12th A-grade flag.

Having lost the second semi-final to the Roos by only three goals, the Dragons have every right to be convinced about their chances.

“We were pretty keen to make sure we got another crack at Flat, so we are super-pumped for another showdown,” Gilchrist said.

“Once you are in, you are a 50 per cent chance, aren’t you?

“It will be a more a battle of the midcourts; we know how strong their attack end is.

“We are excited to see what happens.

“I’m sure there will be swings and momentums, all that sort of stuff that happens in grand finals.

“It will come down to who will ride the storm the best.”

Fuelling the momentum, the Dragons have seven of eight netball and football teams playing in grand finals this weekend, with only the B-grade netballers missing.

“That’s pretty epic,” Gilchrist said.

“Win or lose, it’s an exciting time to be around the club.

“It’s the place to be.”

On the netball side of things, the Dragons’ grand final week got an early injection of momentum courtesy of star midcourter Shae Clifford’s Betty Thompson Medal win as the league’s best and fairest.

Gilchrist could not be prouder of the 21-year-old’s latest achievement, coming on top of her VNL 23-and-under league MVP award with Bendigo Strikers.

“She’s had an outstanding year,” she said.

“Amazingly consistent and just such a hard worker.”

Among her teammates, Sophie Shoebridge finished equal third alongside dual league medal winner Chelsea Sartori (Kangaroo Flat), while fellow midcourter Meg Williams was equal sixth.

The Dragons will have a wealth of premiership experience on court on Saturday, with the bulk of their starting seven having played in at least three of their flag wins in 2018, ’18, ’19 and ’22, and some in four.

They came within one goal of landing a five-peat, when beaten by Gisborne in 2023, but did not make the grand final last year.

Gilchrist believed her side could be no better prepared after toughing it out for a 44-39 win over Gisborne, ending the Bulldogs’ aspirations of a three-peat.

“It was extremely contested netball, that’s for sure,” she said.

“We just had to fight for every ball – I mean we were down by a goal at three-quarter time.

“So, it took everything we had.

“They threw everything at us, but we probably didn’t play nearly as well as we played last week (against Kangaroo Flat).

“Experience got us over the line in the end. A couple of intercepts from Heather Oliver and Ruby Turner in key moments just changed the game.

“It was pretty impressive for the girls to hold on. It certainly could have gone the other way.