It had been 19 long months since Hepburn's 2019 premiership triumph, but the 2021 season finally rolled around and the Burras were as strong as ever.
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A round one bye delayed the season for them by another week, but it affected them little.
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They opened their campaign with a 100-16 drubbing of Carngham-Linton, setting up what would be a dominant offensive season.
Hepburn avergaged 76.2 goals per game, hitting the 100-plus goal mark twice, 90-plus goals once, 80-plus goals once, 60-plus goals five times and 40-plus goals once.
Its defence was nothing to brush to the side either, the team only allowing an average of 22.4 goals per game, second-best in the league.
For outgoing coach Gary Cooke, the offensive and defensive strength of the side was a team effort.
"We absolutely had some firing power down in goals, but it wasn't just that, it was from our (defensive) end down, our ability to bring the ball down to the attack is what impressed me this year," he said.
"From our goal keeper all the way down to our goal shooter, they were all working as attackers and they all worked as defenders on the way back."
The Burras faced five eventual top eight sides throughout the season and announced their dominance over them, aside from Learmonth in round 17.
Before the Lakies clash, Hepburn outscored their top eight opponents by an average of 49.25 goals.
Learmonth provided some push-back, keeping Hepburn to its lowest score of the season (49) and scoring the most goals against the Burras for the season (41).
The biggest thing missing from the season for Hepburn was a clash against fellow undefeated side Buninyong.
The two were scheduled to face one another in round seven, a weekend affected by the season's first lockdown.
The game would have pitted the best defensive side in Buninyong against the best offensive side in Hepburn.
Ultimately, lockdown's put an end to a lot of the Burras' big games, including the finals series, meaning Hepburn did not get a chance to face other contenders in the top eight or defend its premiership.
Despite long-time leader Cooke and netball president Kristi Pedretti stepping down from their posts, expect another strong Hepburn outfit to take to the court in 2022 and once again challenge for a premiership.
Record
10-0, 100 per cent games won, 340.18 traditional percentage
Ladder position
Second
Season
Round one: bye
Round two: defeated Carngham-Linton 100 - 16
Round three: defeated Waubra 88 - 20
Round four: defeated Skipton 66 - 22
Round five: defeated Bungaree 64 - 25
Round six: defeated Springbank 67 - 18
Round nine: defeated Gordon 62 - 21
Round 10: defeated Dunnstown 90 - 22
Round 11: defeated Beaufort 65 - 26
Round 12: bye
Round 15: defeated Ballan 111 - 13
Round 17: defeated Learmonth 49 - 41
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