Netball
12 September, 2025
Rupanyup face Saints for first netball premiership
Rupanyup and Edenhope Apsley will go head to head in the biggest A grade netball game of the year in Saturday’s Horsham District Football Netball League grand final at Natimuk Showgrounds.
Rupanyup enters the premiership decider as favourites, having recorded a 15-1 home-and-away record to be the 2025 minor premiers before their semi-final victory over Kalkee guaranteed their grand final spot.
Adding extra motivation for the Panthers is the chance to win their first A grade netball premiership – something that just evaded them last year in their 40-38 grand final loss to Laharum.
Georgia Hiscock, player-coach of Rupanyup, says the team’s work all year long has put them in a strong position for Saturday, acknowledging the significance of a potential premiership.
“Having another year of experience heading into a grand final definitely helps,” Hiscock said.
“We know a win will only come through hard work and our goal all season has been to be a consistent side.
“A big focus has also been respecting our opposition and never taking a game for granted.
“Winning on Saturday would mean so much, not just for our group now but for everyone who has been part of the club before us.
"Our club has never won an A grade premiership so to achieve that would be incredibly special.”
Meeting them will be an Edenhope Apsley team that have continued to grow throughout the season.
With an almost completely new team to the 2023-premiership winning side, the Saints were put to the test in the finals series, losing their qualifying final before taking down Noradjuha Quantong and Kalkee in successive weeks.
Player-coach of Edenhope Apsley, Lavinia Fox, says their finals campaign has allowed them to improve, building their confidence ahead of Saturday.
“I think the final series has given our side the opportunity to build team connection and work on areas of improvement leading into the grand final,” Fox said.
“We are now sitting in a position where we feel confident heading into the game knowing that we've been working on our areas of improvement and feel very prepared for the grand final.
“There's a strong belief within the group that if we bring our best netball we are capable of winning.”
Critical to Edenhope’s recent success has been the Saints’ defensive duo of Danielle Grindlay and Olivia Spence, who helped limit Kalkee to just 30 goals in their preliminary final clash.
But the pairing of goal shooter Dee Dee Lambert and goal attack Fox, who was just presented with the competition’s best and fairest award, has been the X-factor for the Saints – something Hiscock is very mindful of.
“We respect every one of Edenhope’s players as they all play an important role in their team,” Hiscock said.
“Of course their two goalies are exceptional players.
"Lavinia, the league’s most recent best and fairest and DeeDee, who shows her strength every time she’s on court, are both major threats.
“But we’re not underestimating anyone.
"We know the whole side contributes.”
The Panthers have consistently demonstrated their strength and depth throughout the season.
Helping their success are Victoria Taylor and Holly Ross, who have been impactful disruptors on the defensive end.
Coach Hiscock has been instrumental on both sides of the ball while competition-leading goalscorer Zanaiya Bergen has been a force in the shooting circle.
Rupanyup have won both 2025 encounters between the teams: 42-29 early in the year and a 47-46 nailbiter in round 16.
The one-point loss has only sparked more belief across the playing group, according to Fox.
“The narrow one-point loss to Rupanyup in the rounds helped to spark growth within our team leading into the finals series,” Fox said.
“We know we are capable of competing at a high level against Rupanyup.
“We will be focusing on our own processes to put us in the best position possible to be successful on the weekend.”
Hiscock said the round 16 win was evidence of the side’s resilience, having been down five goals midway through the final quarter.
“That game reminded us that no matter the situation we have the ability to fight back,” Hiscock said.
“If we’re behind at any stage we’ll keep working until the very last siren.”
The A grade final commences at noon on Saturday.