It’s grand final time at last in the Goulburn Murray Cricket women’s competition with the top two sides advancing to the decider.
Not that this was by any means an expected path of progression, given the wild card of a Super Sunday that featured both semi-finals and the preliminary final on one scorching Nathalia afternoon.
Tongala Recreation Reserve is the setting this Sunday at 11am as Mooroopna, yet to taste defeat under the GMC umbrella, meets Echuca Green for the third time in season 2023-24.
The previous meetings, where the Cats triumphed in both the regular season and qualifying final, were hard-fought affairs, to say the least.
For that reason coach Jeff Vandermeer pays little attention to an undefeated record.
“People say that (we’re undefeated), but we’ve had a couple of close games with them throughout the year, which is good for us,” Vandermeer said.
“It makes you think that maybe you’re not doing as well as you think you are; if you struggle, you find more things to improve on.
“Both games have been close and there’s been a bit of luck involved.
“They’ve just got some extra experience, but there’s not much difference between their team and ours and our girls realise that.”
Echuca Green earned its place the hard way.
The only way to make the grand final was by pulling double duty against Katamatite and Shepparton United, with Olivia Hooper’s bowling efforts (5-22 combined) proving vital across the tough day’s play.
As highlighted in previous previews, Echuca Green’s bowling has been an ever-present highlight, while high scores and lots of offence have defined large parts of Mooroopna’s success.
Skipper Lauren Hall addressed issues in her side’s fielding between finals games and the rewards were plentiful against Shepparton United last weekend.
“We worked on areas to improve and asked ‘what did we do well?’,” Hall said.
“We had to work on our placements and aim for run outs to put the pressure on and we did well to execute on the day.
“We look at ways we can get better and there were some from Sunday, but there are plenty of positives as well.
“We did what we needed to do with our bowling.”
With contributors like Amelia Gall conceding just 24 runs in her past five outings at 1.85 an over while taking multiple wickets in back-to-back finals games, the Cats have done their job with the ball.
Despite some stellar figures on both sides, the past two meetings have carried higher scores than most across the league.
Hall says motivating the girls for the charge at a potential first-up premiership is relatively simple.
“The girls are pretty pumped for the game,” Hall said.
“We’ve spoken about our strategies for Echuca and I’m just trying to get the girls ready to go.
“We’ve done the hard work, so we just have to play our game, which we’ve done all year.
“Whether we chase or put the score on to start, we’re solid as long as we stick to our strategies and execute.
“Field placement when our spinners are bowling is crucial.”
Vandermeer wants to instil the message that moments win matches.
“It’s all about the little things that could change one wicket or stop one run that changes the game,” Vandermeer said.
“(Echuca Green) dropped a couple of catches last time that could have had an effect on our total.
“Things like that make a big difference.”