Hampden’s 15 and under netball side finished an impressive runner-up in the Netball Victoria Association Championships final for the second year running.

The Bottle Greens went down to St Albans Caroline Springs Netball Association 12-10 in a thrilling decider at Parkville on Sunday.

Coach Stacey O’Sullivan said it was a great effort by the girls to make it to the final.

“A lot of them played last year in the grand final,” she said.

“Unfortunately, they’ve come runners-up again but we beat Ballarat (in the semi-final), and they beat us in the qualifying a month ago.”

Hampden started the day on a strong note, defeating Bendigo Strathdale 15-8, and followed it up with an 18-8 win over Altona.

The winning run continued with a 10-6 triumph over Albury and 18-8 victory against Frankston and District, before playing out a draw in the final game of the round robin.

Hampden tied 12-all with Gippsland, but had done enough to secure top billing in Pool B.

“They won everything except they did have a draw in their last round, but we knew we only had to draw or win that to stay on the top of our pool,” O’Sullivan said.

She described the semi-final against Ballarat – which Hampden won 13-10 – as a “very physical” contest, and the toll was telling in the final as a tired Hampden team went down to St Albans Caroline Springs.

“It (the grand final) was a really good contest,” O’Sullivan said.

“It was a good learning experience. They just played together well as a team. Everyone just did their role.”

Hampden’s open grade side missed out on finals, finishing third in their pool behind powerhouse Geelong and Bendigo leagues.

Hampden started its day with a 16-10 win over Victoria University, and also defeated Alberton 17-14 and Waverley City 23-3.

They struggled against eventual champion Geelong, losing 17-8, and Ovens and Murray, losing 16-6, and were just clipped by Bendigo in their final game of the day, going down 12-11.

Geelong and Bendigo played off in the decider, with Geelong triumphing 19-9.

Hampden also finished third in its pool in the 17 and under competition.

They won three of five matches, defeating Wimmera 13-9, Alberton 11-10 and Dandenong and District 14-10 in consecutive matches.

Their next two matches were close losses, going down to Banyule and Districts 16-12 and Goulburn Valley 14-13.

Albury defeated Banyule and Districts 14-13 in the decider. In the 13 and under final, Altona defeated Doncaster and Districts 16-14.