Strong third term guides Bethel to A4 grand final glory while Narrikup claim A3 title in thrilling finish

Bethel 3 had to withstand a strong final-quarter challenge from Magpies 3 to claim a six-goal victory in the Albany Netball Association A4 grand final on Saturday. Magpies finished on top of the ladder, losing only three games in the regular season, and they crushed Narrikup 5 in the qualifying final to reach the decider. Bethel had to win their way through the elimination final and then the preliminary final, and they took an early lead after winning the first quarter by two goals. Magpies hit back in a tight second term as both sides wrestled for control. However, the Bethel shooting combination of Courtaney Woods and Isobella Zeibari combined for 13 goals to help their side open up a four-goal advantage at half-time. The third term proved the decisive period in the game as Bethel outscored their rivals 12 goals to six, skipping well clear by three-quarter-time. Magpies trailed by 10 goals at the last change but they dug deep in the final quarter, led by centre Ali Judd and wing attack Indy Rogers. That pair provided strong feeds into shooters Kyrstal Taylor and Mia Dominiak, who netted 16 goals in the quarter. Bethel, however, defended desperately in the final few minutes to cling on and record a memorable grand final triumph, 48-42. The A3 grand final between Narrikup 3 and Griffins 2 was arguably the best game of the season in the division and it went down to the wire. Narrikup started strongly, jumping out to a four-goal lead early in the first quarter before the accurate shooting of Zoe Diletti levelled the scores by quarter-time. The second term belonged to Griffins, and their intensity and pressure rose a level. Centre Felicity Poole got on top of her opponent and, with the continued dominance of Diletti at goal attack, Griffins skipped out to a four-goal lead at half-time. Narrikup swung the changes at half-time and created the desired result almost immediately. Hayley Morton moved to goal defence and made life much harder for Griffins’ shooters, while Jorgia Tomasini going to goal attack created more run for Narrikup. Narrikup looked to have put the game to bed after getting out to a five-goal lead halfway through the last term, but to Griffins’ credit they never gave up hope of causing a major upset. Griffins gave it their all but fell agonisingly short as Narrikup clung on to a thrilling 48-47 victory. The highlight of the game was the match-up between Narrikup’s gun shooter Te Paea Keremete and dynamic Griffins defender Madeleine Byrne. In other ANA grand finals, Griffins 5 claimed the B1 title after a seven-goal victory over Kangas 7. Magpies 5 finished as B2 premiers as they outlasted Narrikup 9 by five goals in the decider. Two Narrikup teams squared off in the B3 grand final but it was Narrikup 11 who were far superior, beating Narrikup 10 in the end 40-24. Royals Saints 7 defeated Magpies 6 by four goals in the B4 grand final. The B5 title went to Narrikup 13 after they held off Bethel 7 by five goals. Winners of the D-division grand finals were Narrikup 14 (D1) and Sonics 2 (D2).