Port Fairy captain Stacey Dwyer had every right to choke back tears after the Seagulls claimed an emotional victory in the A2 grand final.
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The Seagulls entered the match hot favourite but a combination of injuries and nerves contributed to them slipping seven goals behind in the first half.
But they surged to a 21-16 victory against Portland, sparking impassioned celebrations.
“This year we’ve had a pretty emotional year,” she said.
“The angels were looking down on us today.”
Dwyer said the death of A grade netballer Rebekah Moroney in January, combined with her own family tragedy, had provided plenty of added motivation.
Her sister Naomi Foote lost twins who were born prematurely, hitting Stacey and fellow premiership member, sister Elise Woods, hard.
Dwyer wrote the names of her nieces Sadie and Isla on separate fingers as a reminder the short-term pain of pushing herself was inconsequential.
“I kept looking at them,” she said of her fingers.
Coach Alahna Edwards was rapt with the Seagulls’ victory, their second consecutive A2 triumph.
But the match didn’t go to plan for the Seagulls.
Veteran Rachel Pevitt, who suffered a calf injury in the second semi-final win two weeks ago, tore her calf at the first centre pass. Then her replacement Paige Mercovich suffered a finger injury that forced her to the bench. And then just as Port Fairy was fighting back into the contest in the third term, goal keeper Emily Clarke suffered a calf injury while producing an inspirational intercept.
It would have been easy to write the match off when nothing was going right for the Seagulls. Trailing 6-9 when Clarke limped from the court with 10 minutes to play in the third term, the reshuffled Seagulls went five down before peeling off seven consecutive goals to hit the front inside the final minute of the term.
The Seagulls took a two-goal buffer into the final period and they scored the first goal to strike a psychological blow. Minutes later after Portland cut it back to two, Port Fairy scored five consecutive goals to ice the game.
“I thought it would be close,” coach Edwards said after the game.
“The girls have come back from being down by a lot before.”
Seagulls goal keeper Georgia Moloney was voted best on court by the umpires, receiving the President’s Medal, while Dwyer provided plenty of drive and a calming influence at centre.
grbest@fairfaxmedia.com.au
