HARROW-BALMORAL and Edenhope-Apsley will meet in a semi-final at the weekend after both sides clinched wins in their respective Horsham District league A Grade netball elimination finals.
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The Southern Roos came up against Kalkee on Saturday at Edenhope with the two sides having played tight games in the season.
It was a different story this time around as Harrow-Balmoral clicked at the right time, beating the Kees 51-29.
The first quarter was very even but by half-time the Southern Roos had opened up a seven-goal lead and never looked back. The side was not affected by the warmer conditions, and was able to win every quarter.
Southern Roos coach Amy Lewis said it was a very strong team performance.
“Kalkee were very fast and young so the first quarter everyone came out guns blazing,” she said.
“We knew they would probably be able to run out the game a bit better than us but we had plans in place to make sure everyone could run out the game.
“We pushed on and played really well. I thought everybody really stepped up and held their own.”
Lewis said it was an especially good experience for some of the younger girls who had never played an A Grade final before.
“I think four of us had played A Grade finals before so it was really good,” she said.
The Southern Roos will now come up against the Saints, who had a closer contest against the Swifts at Rupanyup on Sunday.
The Swifts got off to a strong start but mistakes started to prove costly as the Saints took a one-goal lead at the first break.
The wheels fell off for the Baggies in in the next two quarters as the Saints rampaged their way to a 12-goal lead at three-quarter-time.
Swifts coach Courtney Morrow made some positional changes, throwing Erin Freeland on the court for the final quarter in her return from a broken finger; a move that paid off.
The Baggies stormed home but the deficit was too large, falling short 47-42.
The match was the Swifts’ first A Grade final in 15 years.
Saints coach Monica van Dyk said it was a great feeling to get the win.
“In finals a win is a win and we are absolutely stoked to go through,” she said.
“Often we have a really difficult third quarter and we made sure we did have a really strong third quarter, but we did start to fatigue a bit in the last quarter.”
van Dyk said every player in her team backed each other up throughout the game.
“Something we have been aiming for all year is playing as a team and I think we did that,” she said.
“We had some turnovers and held balls that were caused by every single player on our team being accountable. It was really great to see the girls backing each other up.”
