One thousand and ninety-nine days.
Come this weekend, that is how long Shepparton United coach Kara Blizzard would have had to live with the heartache of losing the 2019 Goulburn Valley League A-grade netball grand final.
Since then, the world has gone through a two-year COVID-19 pandemic, robbing the Demons of the chance to get the sweet redemption they have been craving.
Until now.
As on Sunday at Deakin Reserve, Shepparton United will once again take to the court for an A-grade grand final, meeting the Seymour team that brought its premiership dreams to a devastating end three years ago.
But with a new cast of characters at her disposal, Blizzard said she was not dwelling on that 2019 loss and expected a vastly different contest this time around.
“That feels like so long ago now and I feel I have forgotten about that now which is a good thing,” Blizzard said.
“I would be lying if I said there wasn’t a bit of redemption on the mind of myself and the girls that played that day though, just because having played for such a long time I know how hard it is to make grand finals and how good of an opportunity this is.
“We have a new, fresh team and so do Seymour, so there are new challenges every year and we’ve changed our game since then, so hopefully it’s for the better.”
After finishing the 2021 season on top of the ladder before it came to an abrupt halt, United entered 2022 as one of the premiership fancies.
And throughout the year it slowly built, rebounding from a mid-year slump to finish third on the ladder and romp into the big dance with a pair of finals victories.
Having the luxury of a week off in the lead up to Sunday’s match, Blizzard said the focus had been on keeping things as normal as possible.
“We’ve been preparing as per usual, trying to keep everything the same as what we’ve been doing all season and keeping things normal,” she said.
“The vibe around the group is just excitement, we know how great an opportunity this is and have worked bloody hard to get here.
“It is out of my hands now, so I’m just really excited for the girls to show what they can do on the grand final stage.”
Forming a great rivalry during the course of the season, United has gotten the better of Seymour so far, winning two of their three meetings in 2022.
Those two victories have come in the past month, with the most recent being a stunning three-goal win in the first semi-final at Mansfield Recreation Reserve on September 10.
A crucial confidence boost leading into the decider, Blizzard said her team was clear on what it needed to do to have success on Sunday.
“I think it will be another really tough game, just because we’ve beaten them twice recently doesn’t mean it is going to happen again on Sunday,” she said.
“All over the court consistency from all seven girls is going to be crucial, in those recent games against Seymour we produced real team efforts, so that will be the key for us.
“Every girl has brought something exciting to the team this year, so if we each play our role one last time and zone in on the game it will put us in good stead on Sunday.”
On a personal note, 2022 has brought a lot of personal milestones for Blizzard, who brought up her 300th game, was awarded GVL life membership and played a key role in the league’s state open championships triumph.
But while these accolades are flattering, Blizzard said her goal all year had been to bring a premiership to United.
“Words can’t explain how much it would mean to be a premiership coach at this club,” she said.
“Finishing off on that premiership would be so perfect, I’ve had a lot of achievements this year personally, but this would top all of them.”