Benalla will have a pair of sides fight on into the Goulburn Valley League finals series beginning this weekend, after the Saints B reserve netball side claimed a brilliant victory to clinch sixth spot in the final round of the season on Saturday.
Heading into round 18 just half a game ahead of seventh-placed Shepparton, with both sides having secured wins in round 17 to send the fight for the last top-six spot into the final round, the Saints took on Shepparton Swans at Princess Park needing a win or draw to continue their campaign beyond the home-and-away season.
It looked a tall task on paper, with the Swans — sitting third on the ladder — having beaten the Saints in their previous matchup this year by six goals, but with the season on the line, Benalla produced a sensational effort to win 46-41 and confirm its spot in finals.
The manner in which the Saints completed the win only added to the magnitude of the victory.
Despite getting the initial jump on the Swans to lead 7-4 in the early stages of the first term, Benalla found itself down 13-14 by quarter time after the home side surged.
The Saints rallied to start the second term, though, and once again found themselves in front after brilliant shooting from Jodi Symes and Samantha Bochtler saw them take a 22-19 lead approaching half time.
But just as had happened in the first term, the Swans lifted as the main break approached, firing home the final six goals of the first half to reclaim the lead, as Benalla stared down a 22-25 deficit with a half to play.
That deficit ballooned out to six goals early in the third term, and the Saints’ grip on sixth spot looked to be slipping; however, a dominant stretch saw Benalla sink seven unanswered goals to edge ahead by one, as the momentum flipped yet again.
It was goal for goal until the final change from there, and with a quarter to play, there was absolutely nothing separating the two sides, level at 33 apiece — a scoreline that would have seen Benalla through to the finals given their percentage, but the Saints weren’t leaving anything to chance.
The Swans edged ahead by one to start the final quarter, but seven of the next nine goals the way of the Saints gave the visitors a four-goal advantage and a little bit of breathing room with less than half a term to play.
It proved more than enough, as Benalla only extended its lead in the dying stages to claim a brilliant five-goal victory, and with it secured a finals berth after locking in sixth spot on the ladder while demoting the Swans to fourth.
The Saints will face a tough challenge this Saturday at Tatura Park when they take on reigning premier and third-placed finisher Seymour, which they have fallen to on both occasions this season; however, will they be hopeful of an upset after finishing the season in fine form with two must-win victories.
The B reserve Saints will be joined by the under-18 football side in competing in an elimination final this weekend, with the thirds having locked up a finals spot in round 17 with a win over seventh-placed Tatura.
The under-18 Saints head into the clash on a high after completing a dominant 22.17 (149) to 1.2 (8) victory over Shepparton Swans, with Owain Boyle and Xavier Wapling putting in huge performances as Benalla’s best, closely followed by Josh Hart, who booted a team-high five goals in the win.
The thirds jumped into fifth spot following the win and will take on Mooroopna in the second elimination final at Tatura Park on Saturday, with the first ball-up set for 9.30am, followed by the first centre pass in the B reserve Saints’ clash against Seymour at 11.45am.
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