Destiny beckons
Seymour has the chance to defend its 2019 Goulburn Valley League A-grade netball crown after defeating Mooroopna by six goals in horrid conditions in Sunday’s preliminary final at Deakin Reserve, Shepparton.
In one of the more unusual preliminary finals, the players were forced from the court for 35 minutes in the third term as a thunderstorm had all desperately ducking for cover.
But the professionalism of the Seymour outfit saw it successfully brave the elements, with dominant periods immediately before and directly after the lightning break seeing it soar to a 41-35 triumph.
Now with the chance to add premiership coach to her long list of career accolades, Lions mentor Ellie O’Sullivan was brimming with excitement following the victory.
“It is super exciting to be in the grand final. The loss (last week) to United certainly hurt us, so we certainly had the fire in the belly today,” O’Sullivan said.
“I thought the girls put a really complete performance out on the court today and to be in the position now where we get to compete on the last Saturday in September, we could not be more thrilled.”
With rain consistently falling on the courts, it was a slippery start to proceedings, with both teams struggling to handle the ball.
In the tense opening period, dominant defensive performances from the likes of Sarah Szczykulski and Nakita Singe helped Seymour get on top, while Madison Wong and Ella Ogier were staunch for the Cats.
With the sides separated by one goal at the first change with the rain heaving down, it appeared spectators were set for a battle of attrition in the second quarter.
But Seymour showed why it finished the season minor premier, producing a perfect quarter in the wet.
Led by Casey Adamson in the midcourt and a lethal Jess Lallo in attack, the Lions romped to a six-goal half-time advantage, leaving Mooroopna on the canvas.
This is where the weather took a sharp turn for the worse, with lightning forcing players off the court early in the third term.
“We spoke a lot about just staying mentally in the game,” O’Sullivan said of how her team handled the halt in proceedings.
“It was always going to be tough coming back on after such a long delay and even though there were certainly scrappy parts to our game after the restart, I felt we regrouped very quickly, which was super important to the win.”