MID South East Netball Association broke a 22-year drought when it claimed the senior title at the South Australian Country Netball Championships in Adelaide over the weekend.
The Mid South East (MSE) side claimed the overall victory over neighbouring South East association Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara (KNT) 29-26 in a hard-fought match.
Showcasing their dominance throughout the three-day competition, Abbey Duncan, Maddie Redman and Ebony McDiarmid were also selected in the team-of-the-carnival.
MSENA president Sara Gray said while the association struggled to put together a senior side early, coach Leah Ousey eventually sought additional players, which created a team of perfect combinations.
“The evenness of the side was evident during the finals series when players had to step up into unfamiliar positions,” Gray said.
“Maddie Redman, Abbey Duncan and Ebony McDiarmid all had a fantastic championships, which was evident by their selection in the Top 10.”
“Sarah Faulkner was also consistent over the three days and Megan Hein had been playing well on the defensive wing, but was switched into wing attack in the finals to cover injury.
“Jasmine Croser and Chloe Pratt grew in confidence as the weekend progressed, while both Shauni Cunningham and Kylie Schultz led from the front over the weekend encouraging and working well with the team.”
While MSE entered the grand final as favourites – after defeating its opponent in the minor rounds by a comfortable 15 goals – it knew KNT would come out firing in hope to claim the silverware.
“KNT are always a tough side to come up against, but we felt we had the team to win,” Gray said.
However, the lead see-sawed early in the grand final and it was KNT who held a two-goal advantage at the break.
MSE stepped its intensity up in the second half and was able to pull away to take a three-goal victory.
Gray said it was an even contest, which came down to the wire.
“The score way fairly even at half time and we didn’t manage to pull away until late in the game, after some impressive defensive work,” she said.
“It really was a team effort as each player had to work hard to earn the win.”
Western Border did not enter a team in the senior competition this year, but Gray commented on the strength of the South East competitions as all three association’s had some impressive outcomes.
“It is great to see how strong out region is when it comes to the country championships,” she said.
The weekend will go down in Mid South East history and Gray said she was proud to be part of such a successful championship campaign.
“It is a fantastic feeling to win the grand final, particularly for those players who have competed in the championships for many years,” she said.
“Chloe Pratt, Jazzy Croser and Megan Hein weren’t born the last time we won.
“Hopefully more people will be interested in going to country championships next year after this result and we can field two sides.”
Meanwhile, the 17 and Under MSE faced Western Border in the grand final after claiming the victory in the minor rounds.
However, despite the efforts of Emma Gould, Lara MacGregor and Sophie Wallis MSE was unable to get over the line, trailing by six at the final break.
The 15 and Under MSE side failed to reach finals, while the 13 and Under team was knocked out by Western Border in the semi-finals.
With the victory in the senior grade and all junior sides finishing in Division 1, Gray said it was successful weekend.
“As president I was extremely proud of the enthusiasm shown by all members of the squad over the three days,” she said.
“Its a credit to the players, coaches and support staff to see the growth in the players over the weekend.
“It was a great result to have three of our four teams play in finals and to come away with the senior title is a thrill for all involved.”
