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, and with it Tongala’s 14-year A-grade premiership drought.
The flag made its way back to Tongala Reserve 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 the grand final had a winner, with a topsy-turvy finale keeping everyone on the edge of their seats.
The Blues opened a six-goal buffer in a fast start to the quarter, but Mulwala kept the pressure on until the last siren.
The effort went in vain as Tongala held on for a 50-43 win and its first premiership in the top grade since 2009.
And the stories stemming from the triumph were endless.
Blues mentor Grace Hammond became a premiership coach at just 22 years of age, and 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.”
Chelsey Wright, Grace 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 winners.
The siren prompted a massive cheer from the Tongala supporters as players hugged on court to celebrate.
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.”
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.
But perhaps one of the most significant storylines of the day came in the form of long-time legend Alicia White, who declared her retirement post-game and notched her second Tongala flag alongside nieces Meg and Gemma Brennan.
Gemma’s performance on the day was pivotal, and that was reflected in the voting for best on court, with the 19-year-old taking out the award.