East Point came out on top by six points in a highly anticipated grand final rematch against rivals North Ballarat City in the Ballarat Football Netball League at Eureka Stadium on Saturday.
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East Point A grade captain Marcelle Geljon said the team had played “extremely well” after going into the match determined to get the four points.
“East and North have always had a big rivalry and that always spurs you on to want to get that win… we knew it was going to be the match of the round,” she said.
“Our girls came out really strong, with great confidence and intensity, and we only had seven players.”
Geljon said a strong first quarter, with an eight-point lead at the first break, had set the players up for the rest of the game.
“After that, you just have to keep maintaining your possessions and every centre pass, which we seemed to do quite well,” she said.
“They kept trying to come back at us but we just kept pushing forward.”
Some of the major focuses for East Point had been coming out onto the court as vocal as possible and concentrating on its attacking and defensive structures.
“We just wanted to keep it basic structures netball,” Geljon said.
“As a team we just backed each other up and that was the key to our win.”
Geljon said while it was a team effort, experience had shone through with Emma Farrell and Jess MacGowan in the attacking line.
“Even though we had players out, we still have belief in the people who do come on and fill those holes, and the people playing out of position, played extremely well,” she said.
Geljon said it had been a positive game after a tough start to the season against the top sides.
East Point sits in sixth position with three wins and two losses, but the team is not fazed by its start, with a long way to go in the season.
“Hopefully going forward we will get some more wins on the board,” Geljon said.
“Overall, I think it was a good, solid performance by us… it was a big confidence booster.”
Final score: East Point 35 defeated North Ballarat 29