It was a night of exhilarating action at Ken Rosewall Arena on Saturday as the Origin Energy Premier League Grand Finals brought the biggest and best season of the competition to date to a close.
Being played at the home of the NSW Swifts and GIANTS Netball, KRA proved to be a fitting backdrop as some of the best up-and-coming pathway talent showcased just how much the Premier League has grown since its inception in 2016.
With a number of Suncorp Super Netball players, and members of the QBE Swifts and GIANTS Netball Academies in action, two sets of Champions were crowned in the Opens and Under 23s Divisions.
Below is an overview of what happened on the night.
OPENS
- Grand Final: North Shore United 62, Central Coast Heart 51
When North Shore United won the Opens title in 2020 it was under the mentorship of ex-NSW Swifts Premiership champion and GIANT Bec Bulley.
However, this year it was different Swifts champion (and GIANT) who led the franchise to another Open success, namely Kim Green.
United were the standout side all season and dominated in the Conference stage to enter the Grand Final as the No.1 ranked team.
Central Coast Heart, who have proven Championship pedigree in their team also, certainly brought a huge amount to the contest but they had no answers for North Shore’s dominant showing in the second and third quarters.
Leading by just two goals at the end of the first quarter, United stretched their lead to eight at halftime and when the siren went for three-quarter time the lead was 15.
The Heart didn’t lie down, and rallied well to claim the final quarter 16-12, but it didn’t make enough of a dent on the final score line which read 62-51 in North Shore’s favour.
Incidentally, the Heart were the more accurate side in the goal circle with Maddie Taylor shooting an impressive 46/49 (94%), but the North Shore midcourt and defence created more turnover possession and attacking opportunities for their shooters.
Up front Sabina Gomboso shot 48 goals and Emily Moore was in good range, and it kept United ticking along nicely en route to another title.
UNDER 23s
- Grand Final: Sutherland Stingrays 59, South Coast Blaze 42
The Sutherland Stingrays now have an Under 23s title to go alongside the Opens one they won back in 2016 after a dominant showing under the bright lights of KRA.
The Blaze, who have been another of the standout sides this season, were playing the second Grand Final of their short history, but it wouldn’t be their night as Sutherland grabbed control of the contest in the opening quarter and didn’t let it go after that.
Under the tutelage of former NSW Swifts captain Abbey McCulloch, the Stingrays shot out of the traps to claim the opening quarter 17-11 and, and while the second period was a much closer affair they still managed to win it and lead 29-21 at halftime.
They call the third the Championship Quarter and McCulloch’s troops – no doubt wary of how close the Blaze pushed them earlier in the Finals – put their pedals to the metal to win it 18-9 and take a commanding 17-goal lead to the last break.
Huge credit to the Blaze, they didn’t lack belief and they put in their strongest showing in the final quarter by going goal-for-goal with their opponents, but they couldn’t make inroads into the deficit.
A key highlight of the Stingrays’ success was how the attacking duo of goal shooter Nicola Barge and goal attack Kiara Bloor shared shooting duties on the night and kept the Blaze defence guessing.
Barge contributed 30 goals and Bloor added 26 in what proved to be a very potent attacking combination.
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS
Netball NSW would like to thank Origin Energy, Cluch and Mizuno for their support of the Premier League in 2022.
Our Grand Finalists would like to thank the following:
North Shore United: Jan Troy (The Sydney Netball Shop), Scott Ryan (ShapeShifters), Adrian Tocchet (Mater Clinic Physiotherapy, North Sydney)
Central Coast Heart: Official Partner Central Coast Mariners FC, Platinum Partner Central Coast Leagues Club, Gold Partner Central Coast community branches of Bendigo Bank, Silver Partner Emma McBride MP, High Performance Partner Coast Sport, High Performance Partner Blitz Strength & Conditioning.
South Coast Blaze: Major Partners IMB Bank and Cleary Bros & Member Associations Illawarra District Netball Association and Campbelltown District Netball Association.
Sutherland Stingrays: Ace Gutters: Coopers Teamwear, Physio Focus Gymea, Audi Sutherland
