A huge final weekend of netball
The last weekend of netball for the first half of 2025 was a huge one for Warrandyte Netball Club (WNC), with grand finals, the Melbourne Mavericks Community Classic, and the Netball Victoria Association Championships Finals Day.
Although winter is finally upon us, the final day of the Manningham Netball Association autumn season was held in perfect conditions on Saturday, June 28 with WNC’s 9U and 11U teams playing their last round games and eight WNC teams playing grand finals.
The fine and sunny conditions were in contrast to those on the Wednesday leading up to the grand finals, where torrential rain and icy conditions forced teams inside to discuss tactics and strategy rather than have one final training session out on court.
The week leading up to Grand Final Saturday is always a nervous one for players, families, and everyone at the netball club.
Teams that finished on top of the ladder and easily won through to the grand final might be feeling confident but have plenty to lose, while those that finished lower and scraped through their semi-final game spend the week wondering just what might be possible on the big day.
The first grand final of the day was the 13/U S3 WNC Dingoes versus the Deep Creek (DC) Emeralds.
The Dingoes went into the game as huge underdogs, with the Emeralds having dominated the section and defeated the Dingoes in each of their three previous matches.
The Emeralds came out strongly, leading 10:3 at halftime and despite a strong third quarter from the Dingoes, went on to easily win 24:10.
The 13U S1 grand final was the WNC Kangaroos versus the Doncaster Kool Kats with the Kangaroos going into the grand final as favourites, having finished undefeated on top of the ladder.
They made a strong start, leading 11:5 at half-time and were never really troubled, going on to win 24:13.
The 13U S4 WNC Echidnas had also finished top of the ladder but had been hit hard by illness during the finals period.
They had managed to scrape through their semi-final with just six players and were forced to also play the grand final with six (including an 11U fill-in).
It was a brave effort from the team, but they could not quite overcome the disadvantage of being a player short and lost 14:12 to the East Doncaster Netball Club (EDNC) Stars.
For many, the most anticipated game of the was the 15U S1 grand final between the WNC Emus and the EDNC Jets, with the Jets having finished top of the ladder and the two teams having won a game each against each other during the season.
It was a game was worthy of the anticipation and was a hard-fought affair with the Emus leading 15:14 at half time and extending their lead to 24:19 at three quarter time.
The game was not over though, and the Jets never gave up, fighting back to come within two goals with two minutes to go and forcing a turnover from the Emus to give them a chance to score and then take the next centre pass.
The Emus held strong, and a crucial intercept gave them possession and a chance to score a goal just on the final siren to win 31:28 and to finally end EDNC’s dominance after three premierships in a row.
The 15U/2 grand final saw the WNC Lyrebirds playing the DC Sapphires.
The first quarter was a tight affair, with the Sapphires leading 8:7 at quarter time but a couple of turnovers and an 11:4 second quarter had the Sapphires up 19:11 by half-time.
The Lyrebirds tried their hardest to pull back the margin in the second half, closing it slightly but still going down 25:31.
WNC’s Emma M was judged as best on court.
The 15/4 grand final was always going to be a tight affair with the WNC Pelicans having finished top of the ladder but only by a small percentage over the EDNC Suns.
The Suns made a strong start, leading 11:8 at half-time and extending their lead to 15:10 at three-quarter time.
The Pelicans stormed home with an 8:4 last quarter but it was not quite enough and the Suns won a thrilling game 19:18 with WNC’s Hannah L being awarded best on court.
The 17U/2 WNC Kookaburras went into their grand final having finished fourth and upset the top placed Panthers Rockets 22:15 in their semi-final.
It was a close game, but the Donvale Driverz gradually pulled away to win 27:22.
The last grand final for WNC was the WNC Kestrels versus the EDNC Astros and in another close game, the Kestrels came out premiers 36:34.
Although grand finals were over for the day, netball certainly was not with WNC invited to participate in the inaugural Melbourne Mavericks Community Classic Day.
Lucky 9U, 11U, and 13U players played games on John Cain arena under Super League rules including the two-goal super shot.
These games were followed by a chance to high-five the Mavericks players as they headed out on to court and to join in a parade of honour around the court at half-time.
The Mavericks won in an upset result against the Sydney Swifts which we would like to think was as a direct result of the huge support WNC game them before and during the game.
To finish off a massive weekend of netball, the Manningham Netball Association Representative 17U/1s team played in the Association Championship finals at the State Netball Centre with WNC’s Eva G being a key part of the team’s defensive line-up.
They had a strong start to the day, winning their first seven games before tiring and finishing third and losing their semi-final 10-18 to Ovens and Murray Football Netball League who went on to win the title.
It was a huge achievement to win the Central East Association Championships to qualify for the finals, and an even bigger one to finish third of all the Victorian representative associations on finals day.
Warrandyte Diary, July 2025
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