Dooleys Metro League Wrap Up 2024
On Sunday the 15th of September, Netball NSW held the DOOLEYS Metro League Grand Final Day. This was the first time in many years that has seen all divisions playing on the same day. We had Development Series all the way through to Division 1, all playing on show court, and we saw some amazing battles on the court! All athletes showed incredible sportsmanship, and we congratulate you all for the passion, endurance and strength you displayed on and off the court.
Development Series
This year saw the first competition in the newly named Development Series, and it delivered! This fresh competition allowed some of the younger aged girls to gain experience in a senior competition.
Our Development Series Grand Final saw Hawkesbury City 2 up against Randwick 4. This was only the third time these teams would play against each other, with only 1 game being in the regular season! Randwick took out the bragging rights during the season, where Hawkesbury cemented themselves over Randwick in the Semi Final. The Grand Final saw Randwick coming for redemption in the final game of the season and they came out hard with Randwick finishing the game with a comfortable win over Hawkesbury, 51-37. This game was an impressive display of some of our youngest athletes amongst our DOOLEYS Metro League competition and should be commended to all girls and coaching staff involved across the season.
Division 5
On show in the Division 5 Grand Final, we saw Central Coast 2 up against Randwick 3 for what was set up to be a tight one. Playing against each other twice in the regular season, on both occasions there was only a maximum of 4 points separating the teams! Central Coast were the division leaders in 2024 by only a margin of 30 points, with Randwick sitting closely behind on 28 points, however Central Coast put their foot down against Randwick in the Semi’s, taking out a 10-point victory. Randwick had to come up against Ku-Ring-Gai who had an even track record in the regular season and wanted their spot in the Grand Final. Randwick took out the win, locking in their spot against Central Coast. With Central Coast on top of the head-to-head stats over Randwick, Randwick needed to bring it home, however the Central Coast team were too strong and took out the game 42-32.
Division 4
This year in Division 4, Penrith District came out firing, winning 17 of their 18 games, taking a clear run of the ladder, finishing 8 points clear of 2nd place and cementing their spot in the Grand Final in Round 1 of the Semi Finals. Eastwood Ryde held onto a 3-point win against Ku-Ring-Gai in the preliminary finals to have lock in their re-match against Penrith. The game was tight from the start with only a few goals between them, but Penrith kept their edge over Eastwood Ryde taking out the victory, 47-40. This saw the Penrith team go back-to-back in Grand Final victories after having moved up from Division 5 in 2023. Can they go again in 2025 – we can’t wait to find out!
Division 3
Division 3 had some contesting to do at the top of the table, with the top 4 teams coming in within 10 points of each other to round out the season. However, the Finals season did not play out the way we all anticipated! Hills District finished the season in top position, with Parramatta Auburn, Bankstown and Liverpool following closely behind. In case you missed the Semi Final, Parramatta Auburn had a point to prove, coming out firing against the ladder leaders in Hills District and capturing their Grand Final spot early with a convincing victory 50-36! Hills had to come up against Bankstown City in the preliminary Final and in an extremely tight game, Bankstown secured the last spot in the Grand Final by 1 point, knocking Hills District from finals contention! Having an even track record in regular season, we knew that this game between Parramatta Auburn and Bankstown City would be one of the games of the day and we weren’t let down. Each quarter was either even or had 1 point the difference and it wasn’t until the 4th quarter where Bankstown City took a late surge and kicked out to clinch the win from the game leaders Parramatta Auburn to finish the game 46-42! This was such an amazing game and saw such respect from all players on court and both teams should be proud of the efforts they left out there on court.
Division 2
Much like some of our other divisions, the top 5 positions on the ladder of Division 2 were separated by single digits, we had to wait until round 18 to see who would play! Camden & District locked in their Grand Final spot in a tight game against their neighbours Campbelltown District in the Semi’ Finals, forcing the 1st place ladder leaders to play in the Preliminary Finals. Randwick finished the regular season in 4th place and did not mess around in their Preliminary Final against Campbelltown District, taking out an 11-point win to ensure their spot against Camden. With this being Randwick Netball Associations final team in the Grand Final day, they wanted to solidify their spot and take out Division 2, however Camden & District were not going down without a fight. Camden were in front going into the 3rd quarter, where Randwick took a burst out in front and were going into the 4th quarter with a 7-point lead and they did not let up there. Randwick finished the game with a 52-39 win over Camden & District, finishing on an ecstatic high for their association. Randwick had 3 out of their 4 teams make it through to Grand Final day – this is a massive effort and is a pat on the back to the association for their efforts in the 2024 DOOLEYS Metro League season!
Division 1
The games to decide the finals series of Division 1 came down to the last round of the regular season, with the final spot in the top 4 coming down to a matter of goal percentage. While Eastwood Ryde were comfortable at the top of the table, they took an equally comfortable win against Northern Suburbs to secure their spot in the Grand Final. However, Northern Suburbs wanted redemption and held on in the Preliminary Final against Ku-Ring-Gai, winning by just 1 point to lock their spot in the big dance! With Eastwood Ryde being the defending Champions in 2024, and Northern Suburbs taking out the 2024 Senior State Titles, Northern suburbs wanted their spot at the top and were going to put in a fight to get there. Much like Division 2, the game was even right up until the 4th quarter until Eastwood Ryde surged to finish the game on top, 47-40.
The success of the full day DOOLEYS Metro League Grand Finals was measured on the court with some amazing results and even better sportsmanship and spirit being shown both on and off the court. With some convincing wins, the teams moving up divisions in 2025 will sure put others on notice and bring a whole new challenge to the league in 2025. We cannot wait to get back on court and see you in the new year for DOOLEYS Metro League.
