Whether it is a shot at perfection or a chance to break a 12-year premiership drought, there is no shortage of storylines surrounding Saturday’s A-grade Murray Netball League grand final between Deniliquin Rams and Rumbalara at Moama Recreation Reserve.
The clear standout team of the season, Deniliquin Rams find themselves with an opportunity to write themselves into the MNL history books, having won all 19 of their matches in the lead-up to the decider.
And a victory on Saturday would see it be the only A-grade netball side in the region to complete the perfect season in 2022, which is something that excited Rams coach Rhiannan Maxwell said.
“The build up to the grand final has been really good, we’ve trained strongly over the past two weeks and now it is all about just going through our routines and embracing the occasion,” Maxwell said.
“This is a very special opportunity for us, everybody strives to be the last team standing at the end of the season, so to have the chance to win the premiership and go through undefeated it is a great spot to be in.”
Meanwhile for Rumbalara the chance to play spoiler and win its first A-grade premiership awaits, with its only losses this season coming against the star-studded Rams unit.
And for coach Jess Bamblett, the opportunity to take her team to the big dance is something she said had been a long time coming.
“I feel very privileged but also extremely nervous at the same time, knowing that as a coach I will have to make some big decisions on who is starting and things like that,” Bamblett said.
“I just cannot wait for Saturday, it has been a long time coming for me having been coach for five years and never going to that next step.
“So to finally be in the grand final it is fantastic and you could say the monkey is off the back.”
It was nearly a case of heartbreak for Rumba last week, as they found themselves six goals down late in the third quarter against Nathalia in the preliminary final, before producing a stirring final term comeback to prevail by two goals.
And having fallen in the penultimate weekend of the season on a number of occasions over the past decade, Bamblett said her team’s ability to pull the deficit back showed just how far they had come during her tenure.
“Being six goals down I just thought, yep we aren’t going to do this again,” Bamblett said.
“But I feel like this year the girls are a lot stronger and there is no weak link in our team from the attack end all the way down into defence.
“So we just kept rolling with the punches and worked our way into it one goal at a time, and to come away at the end with that win it just gave us so much confidence as a team.”
Rumbalara and Deniliquin have forged an intriguing rivalry throughout the season, with the Rams prevailing in each of their three meetings.
But the Rumba girls can take confidence out of the fact they have gotten closer and closer in every battle, falling by 10 goals in round four, three goals in round 15 and a solitary score in a thrilling second semi-final just a fortnight ago.
“They (Deniliquin) are such a strong team and are undefeated for a reason,” Bamblett said.
“There isn’t any weak links in their squad, and if you make any mistakes they’ll make you pay, so we will have to be at our absolute best to be in with a shot.
“But the positive is every time we have gotten closer, which gives us belief that this time around we can finally get the job done against them, we are certainly keen for the challenge.”
So how much would premiership glory mean to the Rumbalara community?
Bamblett said it would be massive for a whole host of reasons.
“It would be pretty special (to come away with the win),” she said.
“The girls have worked so hard, so to deliver this success to not only the club but our entire community which will be out in force on Saturday, it would mean the world.”
2022 Murray Netball League A-grade grand final
Deniliquin Rams v Rumbalara, 1.30pm, Moama Recreation Reserve