After the “gratifying experience” of watching her players put together their strongest performance, East Point co-coach Jo Bayles is confident the team can do it all again in a grand final.
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East Point defeated ladder-leaders Sunbury by 16 goals to secure its spot in Saturday’s Ballarat Football Netball League A-grade grand final against North Ballarat City at Mars Stadium.
“That win, it’s gone a long way for them to fully understand what they’re capable of,” Bayles said. “We knew it but sometimes knowing it and actually demonstrating it are two different things.”
But captain Bethany Smith said one of East Point’s greatest challenges would be North’s accurate shooting.
“They never miss really,” she said.
“The young shooters are just unbelievable, they’re shooting from all distances, so you’ve got to make sure you get in the right position and get those rebounds because there are very few and that turnover could be what counts at the end of the day.”
While keeping a lid on the excitement during the week, Smith believed it would help her teammates on game day.
“We will let that excitement build a little bit again and use that when it comes to Saturday and hopefully get on top of them,” she said.
North’s captain Stacey McCartin was happy about the familiarity of the opposition with the teams having played three times already, especially considering the changes East Point has made.
“They’ve played different positions, so we can understand more ways they may put their players in different places,” she said.
Even with plenty of grand final experience between the two teams, the occasion is not lost on the players.
“There’s a lot of excitement and nerves, it’s a good mix,” McCartin said. “Every grand final is going to be different.”
How do East Point, North match up?
North Ballarat City and East Point’s A-grade teams have already played against each other three times this year, twice in the Ballarat Football Netball League season as well as the semi final.
While East Point took away the points in the first encounter, a three-goal victory, North has defeated the Kangaroos by margins of five goals and 16 goals since.
North’s most recent win against the Kangaroos was the semi final two weeks ago. While North enjoyed the week off, East Point’s lacklustre performance prompted individual reflection and an inspired preliminary final.
North Ballarat City boasts four Ballarat Football Netball League team of the year players, league best and fairest Stacey McCartin as centre, league most valuable player Madison Selmon as goal shooter, Laura McDonald in goal defence and Gina McCartin as a substitute.
East Point has team of the year goal keeper Bethany Smith and Lauren Atkinson in the wing attack position.
North has suffered grand final defeats in 2016 and 2017 following premiership success. East Point won the 2016 grand final in double over time.
How they line up on court
Ballarat Football Netball League will celebrate the culmination of its season with the senior netball grand final day at Mars Stadium on Saturday.
Ballarat and Lake Wendouree boast the most grand final teams with three each.
