‘Burra run over Tigers in flag for the ages

IT came down to the wire, but Hepburn pulled back an eight-goal deficit and then went clear over Springbank in the second half to claim the Central Highlands Netball League A Grade flag on Saturday, 44 to 41.

Back and forth all game, when the pressure was on in the final period ‘Burra stood up to the task and turned some screws of their own, something captain Tara Ford said the squad had worked on.

She also credited the cold, rainy conditions for the win.

“We play really well in the wet weather. It sounds silly but it just slows the game down and brings is back to our short, sharp game,” she said. “We work really hard on our full court defence, that’s really important to us.”

Despite never having led at any break, Hepburn got the job done when it mattered, out scoring the Tigers in the last two quarters by seven goals.

‘Burra coach Garry Cooke said put the victory down to several factors, a key one being self-belief.

“It’s fantastic,” he said. “It was one of those games that came down to luck in the end, but we managed to hold on and I knew we could do it, we just had to persevere.

“They got out to an eight-goal lead at one stage and we knew could pull it back. We just stuck to our guns and focused. We knew exactly what we had to do and we’ve trained all year for that.”

Hepburn centre Madeline Carter was named best on ground for the match.

A GRADE

Springbank 41 defeated by Hepburn 44

Best on ground – Madeline Carter from Hepburn

B GRADE

Hepburn 23 defeated by Springbank 36

Best on ground – Erin Atterton from Springbank

C GRADE

Hepburn 36 defeated Springbank 21

Best on ground – Carly Elderfield from Hepburn

17 & UNDER

Learmonth 26 defeated Bungaree 23

Best on ground – Emily Findlay from Learmonth

15 & UNDER

Waubra 14 defeated by Buninyong 20

Best on ground – Scarlett Eason from Buninyong