Netball
9 September, 2025
Horsham Saints seal grand final place
The Horsham Saints have cemented their place in the WFNL A grade grand final with a solid 72-51 win against crosstown rivals Horsham.
Playing in Minyip on Saturday, the minor premiers also secured a week off, while the Demons will face Dimboola in the preliminary final for the third year in a row.
Saints' coach Vernetta Taylor was rapt with her team's assertiveness from the first whistle.
"I was extremely happy with how the team performed on Saturday," Taylor said.
"Everything we'd been working on at training, we went out and they put it into the game.
"I think from the first whistle, we were switched on, and we were able to push through [until the end]."
Taylor described the game as having the intensity of a one-goal contest, despite the margin reaching double figures.
"The Demons are a fierce team," she said.
"They're competitors and they push us.
"We know that we have to play our best when we come up against them because they will capitalise on any mistake.
"I was very impressed just with the consistency, the way that we were able to stick to our game plan."
Part of the Saints' success was creating turnovers across the court: something Taylor said was a focus of the team's success throughout the season.
"Our defenders, you know, are amazing defenders, but being a defender is every person's job," she said.
"We work really hard on getting our hands over the ball… keeping our eyes up and being ready for any intercept opportunities, putting pressure on every pass, because that's what wears the opposition down.
"They're not fancy things.
"It's basic things but things that work."
The Saints' midcourt trio, Megan Byrne (WA), Ashlee Grace (C) and Shannon Cross (WD), earned praise from the coach for their ability to convert turnovers into scoring opportunities for Jorja Clode and Abby Hallam.
"They're beautiful together," Taylor said.
"A real focus for us this year is getting that ball to the circle edge before we feed it to our goalies.
"I think in previous seasons we've been tempted to put in the high pass from further back.
"We use [Shannon Cross] so we can get ourselves into the best possible position to feed our goalies safely."
Clode finished with 57 goals for the Saints, while Cross and Hallam were named best on court.
"Abby played a really great game," Taylor said.
"Abby is very good on the long shot and she proved that again in those challenging winds on Saturday."
For the Demons, Imogen Worthy top-scored with 34 goals, while Georgia Batson and Georgie Carberry added 10 and seven, respectively.
Worthy and defender Romi Miller were named best on court.
