Narrabri Netball Association hosted its 2023 campaign grand final day on Saturday at the Bev Burrows Courts where four victorious teams were crowned champions, two umpires were signed off for their C-badges, a new life member was acknowledged and several individual awards were received by worthy recipients.
The Tourist Tornadoes completed a remarkable season when they won the A-grade grand final to be crowned back-to-back champions and to also complete an undefeated 2023 season.
The minor premiers had the chance to complete a dominant double in the grand final rematch against Fever, and they did so in style with a convincing 56-24 win against the second-placed team.
It was a brave effort by a Fever side that lined up on quite a hot day with just seven players, and therefore had no subs to call on.
The Tornadoes set the tone with a dominant first quarter as they piled on 13 goals while restricting Fever to just three, and then they outscored their opponents 15 goals to six in the second quarter to go into half-time ahead 28-9.
The Tornadoes picked up where they left off as they started the second half on the front foot, and the third quarter was their most dominant of the match as they scored 16 goals to Fever’s five to go into the final break ahead 44-14.
The final result finished 56-24 after the Tornadoes won the final quarter 12 goals to 10 to cap off a memorable grand final victory.
Other grand final winners were the Hairy GOATs (B-grade), the Namoi Cotton Thunderbirds (under-11/12) and Rubies (under-9/10).
The Hairy GOATs were the minor premiers of the B-grade competition this year and they challenged second-placed side The Golfie Grubs in the decider.
A young GOATs side won the game 48-46 against the more experienced Grubs in what turned out to be a nail-biting finish.
The sides went into quarter-time locked at 12-all before Hairy GOATs established a 23-22 half-time lead after outscoring their opponents 11 goals to 10 in the second.
They started to run away with the game in the third quarter as they went into the final break leading 37-27, but a determined Grubs side fought back to make it a thrilling finish.
They outscored the GOATs 19 goals to 11 in the final quarter but fell short by just two.
In the under-11/12 contest, Wee Waa’s Namoi Cotton Thunderbirds also prevailed in a close game as they won 10-8.
The Thunderbirds outscored fellow Wee Waa team, the C and W Firebirds, 3-2 in the first quarter and then went into half-time ahead 6-2 after they did not concede in the second term.
It was 9-5 at three-quarter-time after the sides scored three goals each after the main break, and despite being outscored three goals to one in the last quarter, the Thunderbirds did enough to clinch the grand final win.
In the under-9/10 decider, Rubies scored an 8-1 win against Diamonds after leading 2-1 at quarter-time, 3-1 at half-time and 5-1 at three-quarter time.
As always, grand final day could not have been a success without team white. The 2023 grand final umpires were Lisa Currey (C-badge) and Erin Barton in the under-9/10 division, Fiona Redfern (C-badge) and Carmel Harvey in under-11/12s, and Rowie Tunningley (Gunnedah – B-badge) and Paul Grundy (Sydney – B-badge) in both A-grade and B-grade.
Presentations were held throughout the day, during which individual and team brilliance were acknowledged.
The grand final day awards are as follows:
9/10-years player of the grand final – Chloe Holden (Diamonds).
11/12-years player of the grand final – Tara Galagher (Thunderbirds).
B-grade player of the grand final – Maxine O’Connor (The GOATs).
A-grade player of the grand final – Demi Winter (Tourist Tornadoes).
Umpiring C-badges – Lisa Currey and Fiona Redfern.
Margaret Illingsworth memorial trophy for the senior goal aggregate – Hairy GOATs.
Helen Houguet memorial trophy – The Rubies
Steph Stuart memorial trophy for the junior sportsperson of the year – Matilda Currey.
Junior umpire award – Holly Anderson.
Committee person of the year – Kerry Crutcher.
Life member – Kate Bakhuis.
While the 2023 campaign has now wrapped up, the focus quickly turns to 2024 as the new committee, led by president Kerry Crutcher, looks to lock in Narrabri’s representative teams.
The rep teams’ nominations close next week, and then two (potentially three) trial days will be held during October.
NNA is planning to send an opens team to compete at the North West Regional League comp in Tamworth in March, under-15s, under-17s and opens teams to the Senior State Titles in June, and under-12s, under-13s and under-14s teams to the Junior State Titles in July.
There are also several positions still available on the committee, which the association are hoping to fill soon.
They include competition convenor (an executive position), canteen co-ordinator(s), the twilight netball sub-committee, Net Set Go co-ordinator, the carnival sub-committee, and sponsorship and fundraising.
