Her husband, Jake, is president, while her daughter-in-law is a team manager.

They watched on as Harkness' A Reserve charges showed nerves of steel to record a thrilling one goal triumph over Dennington on Saturday.

Harkness paid tribute to her players for their netball intelligence and talent.

"I don't necessarily think I have to work with them too much, because they already have the skills in their own right," she said.

"My role is more about just making those decisions on game day. They have extreme input week-to-week and their thoughts are always sensible and appreciated.

"We feed off each other. The ability is all there. We don't put it there, we just fine-tune it so they can get out and play the game on the day."

Nirranda goalkeeper Kirsty Wickham said the premiership hadn't yet sunk in post-match.

"It was so close, I didn't even realise the time had gone," Wickham said.

Wing-attack Rose Delaney, who moved to goal attack in the third quarter to fill the void left by injured skipper Jess Turland-Rhook, lauded her teammates' role in the victory.

She said the strength of Nirranda's top side, coached by Steph Townsend, had trickled down to the A Reserve team.

"I think training against our A grade girls is one thing we look forward to each week," Delaney said.

"We tend to play a half court against them at training. We're playing against the best (in the league) and if we can put it to them, we're going to play our best netball."

Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.