There wasn’t a dry eye at the Moama Recreation Reserve courts after the final siren sounded to end the Murray League A-grade grand final.
Because after 14 years, the cup is heading back to Tongala after the Blues dug in for a dramatic premiership triumph over Mulwala in a scorching finale to the 2023 season
And what a game it was. It wasn’t until the dying stages of the fourth quarter that Tongala’s win was assured after carrying a three-goal lead into the final quarter.
The Blues opened a six-goal buffer in a fast start to the quarter, but Mulwala kept the pressure on until the last siren.
But the effort did not matter, with the Blues holding on for a 50-43 win and their first premiership in the top grade since 2009.
Blues mentor Grace Hammond has now become an A-grade premiership coach at just 22.
For her, the final siren brought relief after two seasons of building to the ultimate success.
“It’s indescribable, really,” Hammond said.
“We had 10 girls all year and today we had to throw 10 girls at them.
“We chipped away at it and we played four quarters of netball. We believed we could do it all year and we did it.
“I’m speechless. We knew it would be tough playing against Mulwala.
‘’They came from fourth and they finished the season in incredible fashion.
“We knew they would run as hard as us and throw everything they had at us.
‘’They play a similar style, so we had to adjust to that.”
And adjust they did.
The Blues shot off to the perfect start, with Milly Brock and Meg Brennan shooting seven of the first 11 goals of the game.
But as was the case for the entire contest, the Lions wrestled back momentum in front of a big crowd lining the courtside, both blue and white and red and blue in equal measure.
Steph Hammond shot well early and 200-gamer Grace Thomson looked lively to mark the occasion to get Mulwala out to a four-goal lead.
But Tongala pulled back the deficit before the first break to trail by just two goals.
It was goal-for-goal in the second quarter as the Blues’ backcourt began to lift.
The addition of Alicia White, in tandem with young gun Gemma Brennan, allowed Tongala to open up a two-goal lead at the other end of the court, carrying that into half-time.
On a hot spring day, the clash looked set to be a war of attrition in stifling conditions.
But neither side gave an inch.
Chelsey Wright, Hammond and Halle Gray continued to toil hard while opposing midcourter Lily Sharp began to work her way into the contest.
A Brock burst in the late stages of the third quarter handed the Blues a crucial three-goal buffer heading into a grandstand final quarter of the season.
And when the game was there to be won, Tongala held fast.
A goal-for-goal start to the fourth term blew open when Brock partnered with her coach for a three-goal run to extend Tongala’s lead to six goals.
Despite Mulwala’s best efforts to pull itself back into the contest, the Blues held steady to run out seven-goal premiers.
The siren prompted a massive cheer from the Tongala supporters as players hugged on court to celebrate a memorable victory — and a drought-breaking one.
Hammond started by paying tribute to her backcourt.
“Our defenders didn’t stop all day,” Hammond said.
“They have been like that all year — they adjust and they create so many opportunities for us in the attack end.
“As the season progressed, we got the ability to be able to convert a lot more.
“It paid off today — just treasuring that ball.”
Hammond admitted it was a hot day out on the court, with the Blues forced to bring the changes at several points.
“I think we had to call time every quarter and bring on some fresh legs,” she said.
“Whoever was on the court ran until they couldn’t run any more.
“We had a lot of rotations today, and I’m lucky that I have a team that I can throw so many different things at on court and have faith in everyone.”
For many players, the result was a mixture of elation and relief and the storylines were endless.
Youngsters Meg Brennan and Sienna Johnstone erased the heartbreak of last year’s under-17s grand final loss to play a vital role in their first A-grade flag, as did Halle Gray in her first season over from Echuca.
A premiership winner in 2019 with Echuca United, Milly Brock has now done it for the Blues and sent a reminder of her status as a dominant force in Murray League A-grade netball.
Hammond couldn’t lock down any one player for individual honours.
The Blues had fielded the same 10 players all year and it paid dividends.
Tongala won the premiership and a tight-knit Blues group had fun doing it.
“Having Milly in that goal circle, you can’t look past her,” Hammond said.
“It’s hard to narrow it down when you have 10 players that took to the court and played their role.
“No-one played a bad game and that’s all I can ask for as a coach.”
But one performance stood out, and it came from Gemma Brennan.
The young Blues defender played her best netball when it counted, etching her name into the Murray league history books as the best-on-court in the grand final.