The Burras trailed by as many as seven goals in the third quarter, and looked as if they might succumb to a ferocious Springbank attack led by Cynna Kydd.

But the Burras composed themselves, piling on nine goals to two, to draw even with the Tigers, before clinching the match 44-41 in the final term.

"It was nerve wracking," said Hepburn head coach Gary Cooke.

"I felt like we had it, but the scoreboard wasn't showing it. I could feel confidence building, I could feel momentum building, but the scoreboard didn't show it until the last couple of minutes."

A large crowd gathered to watch the fourth quarter as both teams tried desperately to gain the upper hand. The Burras took the lead midway through the term only for the Tigers to retake the lead off the hand of Kydd, who played the entire second-half with a dislocated finger.

Hepburn increased the pressure, going goal-for-goal with Springbank, before going ahead for good in the dying stages.

"The team wanted to play for each other, and everyone was committed and had a crack at every single pass, that was our motto - make a good decision and have a crack at everything."

The motto was embraced by Hepburn centre Maddie Carter, whose effort in the midcourt earned her game MVP honours.

The first-year player told The Courier the win was among the greatest of her career.

"I feel a bit faint thinking about it, it was back and fourth and it was real finals netball, and I'm just happy we could hang on," she said.

"We new Springbank was going to be a tough game with the likes of Cynna (Kydd) who just doesn't miss, so we knew it would have to be a four-quarter effort."

Eighteen-year-old Kira Howard was also superb for the Burras at wing attack, while club captain Tara Ford was brilliant in defence

The final marked the last game for Springbank's Kydd who announced her retirement in the lead up to the match.

Cooke praised her contributions to the game.

"She's just phenomenal, it is a shame she is retiring, she is so good for netball in the entire area and she's a star," he said.

After going down to North Ballarat City in the 2018 Ballarat Netball league A-grade grand final, East Point coach Jo Bayles says every win over the netball powerhouse tastes a little bit sweeter.

"(Beating North) does make the victory a little bit sweeter," she told The Courier after her side's 41-39 semi-final win at the weekend.

"There's no love lost between the two teams... losing the grand final just adds more motivation every time we come up against North.

"It's always such an arm-wrestle against North and it's always such a high quality match."

It was back and forth for much of the game between the two rivals, with only one goal separating the teams going into half time.

East Point found a way to extend its lead to five goals in the third term, however Bayles made it clear to her side capping off the win with a big fourth quarter was crucial against North.

"We knew North were never going to roll over and give it to us... they kept coming at us. We just needed to stay composed and play smart netball because North are such a formidable opponent."

"I just told them "lets not relax here, lets go into this as though it is even and not take our foot off the gas."

"The fourth quarter was really about not taking notice of the score, respecting North's ability to come back and playing as though we were behind."

Bayles praised her defenders, who largely took star North goaler Jordyn Bibby out of the game (four goals on nine attempts).

"We knew we had to try and get their goalers off their shots and work really hard. The message to our defenders was "you've got to make them play every ball and you've got to make them play an extra ball on the attack end."

Securing the bye ahead of the grand final was made all the more important for the Roos as important mid-court player Kate Martin was replaced by Lauren Jew at half time after a calf injury.

"Hopefully she'll pull up okay... having the week off with give her an extra opportunity to play in the grand final," Bayles said.

It will be a top two clash in the Ballarat Netball League A-grade preliminary final after Sunbury came away with a four-goal victory over Lake Wendouree on Sunday afternoon.

The Lions, who finished on top of the competition ladder, jumped out to a three goal lead to close the first on the back of perfect shooting from its goalers, who connected on all 11 of its shot attempts.

The Lakers came out playing with intensity and determination in the second term, outscoring the minor premiers 14-10 to re-take the lead and put together momentum heading into the second half.

There was a clear defensive shift for the Lions coming out of half-time as and mid-court pressure lifted, causing turnovers and limiting the ball supply for the Lakers offence.

Taking a 29-27 lead into the final term, the Lions knew they had to simply match Lake Wendouree to hold on and advance to the preliminary final.

Each side moved the ball well and found its goalers, however inconsistent shooting ultimately sunk the Lakers, as the side missed five of its 14 attempts in the final quarter, leading to a 40-36 Sunbury victory.

The Lions will now move on to face North Ballarat City in the preliminary final at City Oval next Saturday.

The two sides have played twice in 2019, with the Lions each team registering a victory. Sunbury will look to go one better than 2018, where they were eliminated in the preliminary finals by East Point.