Blue Mountains thrashed Campbelltown by 20 points in the 2015 Dooleys State League division 4 netball grand final to be crowned this year's champions.
After finishing the regular season two points clear to claim the minor premiership, Blue Mountains Netball Association were able to put on a near flawless display to claim an emphatic 48-28 win in the title decider last Thursday [July 23], with Campbelltown on the back-foot from the opening minutes.
Head coach, Margaret Murrin, was a relieved mentor after the grand final win, held at Sydney Olympic Park, saying it was a long-time in the making.
"I thought the girls played well all season- they fought hard every game and knew they would have to come onto the court and play the very best they've played all season to beat Campbelltown," Murrin said.
"Campbelltown [have been] an unpredictable team this year, they've had some great wins through the season but I thought we did really well."
Going goal-for-goal throughout the opening minutes, the break didn't come until the six-minute mark when Blue Mountains pounced on a possession loss in Campbelltown's attacking third. Their goal shooter converted the opportunity to take her side into the lead.
Blue Mountains slowly but surely built, getting to a four-goal buffer with a timeout called halfway through the first quarter. Rather than let the unscheduled break disrupt their momentum, Mountains came out firing to post three consecutive goals. The crowd rode every run of play as the intensity of the contest continued to build.
While Campbelltown were able to find the post towards the end of the first 15 minutes, Mountains enjoyed a huge nine goal lead by the first break.
Blue Mountains strong one-on-one defensive pressure caused hesitancy in Campbelltown's game as they struggled to find a smooth transition down the court. This limited possession to their shooters who were unable to add to their tally.
It was a scrappy opening few minutes to the second quarter with neither side able to score. Campbelltown finally broke the deadlock after five goal-less minutes. However, the frequency of possession in Campbelltown's third was scarce as Mountains continued to control the run of play, eventually extending their lead to more than double their opposition's score; the minor premiers leading 26-12 at half-time.
Despite staring at that 14-goal deficit, Campbelltown re-entered the court rejuvenated and determined to claw back some ground. Revved up, they took the contest to Blue Mountains who found no easy path to their shooting circle. With the pressure high it once again took many minutes to open the scoring, with Campbelltown doing the honours with back-to-back goals for the start of the second half.
Campbelltown continued to contest until the final whistle, but Blue Mountains' victory never looked in doubt. In the end the minor premiers were able to finish 20-goal victors to claim the 2015 title.
