WITH Pulse and Cougars both sitting on equal points on top of Armidale and District Netball Association’s first division ladder heading into the decider, Saturday’s highly anticipated grand final clash between the two sides was set to go down to the wire.
It didn’t disappoint.
In the all-VIP club encounter, very little separated the two sides. Cougars had the upper hand in the opening stages of the game and held a 24-17 lead at half-time.
A third quarter fightback from Pulse saw the sides evenly matched heading into the final quarter.
Solid defensive work late in the game by Pulse’s Pip McDonald and Sally Healy saw the side hold on and snatch a one point victory to award them the premiership.
Pulse’s Rochelle Joyce said it was a hard fought win for the club who went down in last year’s decider.
"We were really happy. It has been a while, we were there last year and we lost to the Cougars so it was nice to beat them,” she said.
"We only got to play them once [this season] because they ended up not having enough players to field a team through the season, we beat them by a bit but that was in the first few rounds so we hadn't met them for a long time.”
The team were in their sixth grand final in ten years.
Joyce said the third quarter fightback enabled the side to get over the top of their opponents.
"We play in a club called VIPs so this year is our 10th year so it is pretty cool for our team in particular,” she said.
"The third quarter for us was awesome. We came back and we were even again which was great but before that they were all over us.
"Our defensive ends played really well against their shooters.”
Results from other matches include: Primary 1: ACSC Gems (29) defeated Ben Venue Opals (24)
Primary 2: PLC Red (21) defeated Ben Venue Hot Shots (14)
Div 6: ACSC Swift (18) d’d VIP Sportspower Firebirds (16)
Div 5: PLC (6) d’d NEGS6 (20)
Div 4: Duval Dragons (26) d’d ACSC Vixens (22)
Div 3b: ACSC La Belle (34) d’d TAS 2 (29)
Div 3a: ACSC Classics (46) d’d DHS Wild Ones (25)
Div 2b: ACSC Pumas (29) d’d MFIT Mixups (24)
Div 2a: VIP Diamond Divas (36) d’d Kurrawatha Caterpillars (25)
Ellen Dunger
Originally from the Blue Mountains, I spent my teenage years in the Riverina at boarding school before moving to Bathurst in 2012 to complete Bachelor of Sport Studies/ Bachelor of Communications (journalism) at Charles Sturt University. I started my career at The Blayney Chronicle in May 2015 and worked casually, one day a week at the Central Western Daily later on that year. I moved to Armidale in March 2016 to take on the role as the Northern Tablelands' sports journalist. Played a variety of sports in my lifetime including touch football, league tag, gymnastics, dance, cross country running and equestrian. Always happy to hear news and tips. www.facebook.com/ellendungerjournalist/
Originally from the Blue Mountains, I spent my teenage years in the Riverina at boarding school before moving to Bathurst in 2012 to complete Bachelor of Sport Studies/ Bachelor of Communications (journalism) at Charles Sturt University. I started my career at The Blayney Chronicle in May 2015 and worked casually, one day a week at the Central Western Daily later on that year. I moved to Armidale in March 2016 to take on the role as the Northern Tablelands' sports journalist. Played a variety of sports in my lifetime including touch football, league tag, gymnastics, dance, cross country running and equestrian. Always happy to hear news and tips. www.facebook.com/ellendungerjournalist/
