Luhrs’ division two outfit had just three players who had played in the same side, so she knew it would be a development process.

But she wasn’t using that as an excuse for poor results.

Instead, her side set the bar high and united in pursuit of a common goal – grand final glory.

“I’ve coached for a long time, and I’m a big advocate for the saying ‘if you don’t believe, you won’t achieve’,” Luhrs said.

“I’ve spoken about the grand final right from the word go. When we played Port Fairy on April 8, and we won our first game, I said ‘right, we’ve got 19 to go’.

“I knew we were going to get here. I just had this vibe with this team. I felt there was a lot here to work with.

“I just believed that the whole way. I’m not sure why, but whether it’s right, whether it’s wrong, but we always said ‘don’t question it’. We’re going to be there.”

The experienced mentor said satisfaction could be drawn from Hamilton’s effort in building the list from scratch.

The Melville Oval-based club held off a determined Koroit, maintaining at least a three-goal buffer for most of the clash.

The Kangaroos finished 40-37 victors after a strong final term.

“I think it’s more of an achievement when you develop a team. It’s because they’re actually learning, they’re enthusiastic,” Luhrs said.

“You haven’t got girls that are cosy in one position. You’ve got so much to work with, it’s just a matter of getting the formula right and we did.”