Netball
23 September, 2024
Demons claim first premiership since 2016
The Horsham Demons are the 2024 Wimmera Football Netball League A-grade netball champions. On Saturday, they recorded a five-goal win over the Horsham Saints, the reigning premiers, at Dimboola Recreation Reserve.
The Demons finished top of the ladder, were more motivated than ever coming into the grand final, and were not going to let this one slip.
In the early stages of the match, it was goal-for-goal until the Saints took a three-goal lead, thanks to Abby Hallam and Jorja Clode.
Three late goals, two to Imogen Worthy and one to Georgia Batson, ensured the Demons squared the game up at 14-14 at quarter-time.
Jorja Clode scored the first goal of the second quarter, but goals from Batson and Worthy gave them the lead, and when Worthy scored the next three, they were leading by four.
The margin hovered around the five-goal mark through the middle stages of the quarter until the Demons capitalised on turnovers, extending it to nine at one stage before the Saints brought it back to seven at half-time.
The Demons' pressure was hot in the third quarter, forcing turnovers. They maintained a six- to eight-goal lead all quarter, with two of the last three goals extending the margin to nine at three-quarter time.
The last time these two teams played two weeks ago, Horsham coughed up a four-goal lead, but that was soon put behind them as the Demons kept pressuring, maintaining the six-eight lead most of the quarter.
The Saints battled hard, scoring the last three goals of the game, but it was the Demons' day, and they won 63-58.
Imogen Worthy was named best on the court, shooting 36 goals, with Georgia Batson scoring 27. Romi Miller was outstanding at goal defence throughout the day.
Jorja Clode shot 46 goals for the Saints, with Abby Hallam scoring 12. Holly Phillips tried hard at wing defence, and Maddison Bethune was one of the Saints' better players.
The Demons' coach, Ebonie Salter, played in a premiership in 2006 with the Demons, left the club, and didn't play in their 2016 premiership, so this one was special for her.
After the game, she was filled with emotion and praised her entire team for their hard work.
"I know we prepared well from the start of the year, and we were ready for this, and I feel like we deserve it," Salter said.
"The best thing is that we have been growing every week, and I guess the benefit for us was knowing it was possible and for it to happen, we couldn't take our foot off the pedal.
"We went in knowing we could be in overtime today and to give every quarter the full 15 minutes as we knew a team like the Saints would come back at us, regardless of the buffer."
"The girls believed, played hard and got the rewards, and it's an amazing feeling."
Salter praised Worthy's game, saying she deserved best on the court.
"Imogen has grown so much. In other years, she had been disappointed with her performance in finals, but she showed today that she could dig deep, and she did, and we had full faith in her," Salter said.
"She has grown all season and has been solid and reliable for us in attack, and we knew she could do it, and I am proud she could do it."
Saints' coach Jess Cannane said that the Demons deserve their win, and even though the result wasn't what they wanted, she is proud of the girls.
"I am super proud of the girls. I told them that when we chatted after the game," Cannane said.
"To have four of our under-17s that won the premiership the game before, to back it up in A-grade is a credit to what we are doing.
"It's been a tough year, and we knew the game could have gone either way and a credit to Horsham to capitalise on their minor premiership and bounce back from a tough game last week to get the win."