
Hampden league 17 and under co-coach Sophie Hinkley says the talent within the south-west region is reason for plenty of excitement.
Hinkley - alongside co-coach Nadine McNamara - guided the Hampden girls to the 17 and under title at the Western Region Association Netball Championships on Sunday, with the squad going through the nine games on the day undefeated.
In what was a tense and tightly-fought grand final against Ballarat Netball Association, the Hampden team won 14-13 in front of a vocal crowd at Warrnambool Stadium.
Hinkley said the determination and tenacity of the squad throughout the day shone when it mattered.
"We're really proud of them, just the way they were able to show grit in the end, it was the closest game we'd had all day," she told The Standard.
"We had a few injuries and things that meant that we ended up with 10 players, but we played eight games so it's a big workload.
"They obviously played (on Saturday), some of them played two games so to come out and run around all day is really hard work.
"We were impressed with their composure and the way they fought out the game."
Hinkley said despite the injury hiccup, the balance and depth within the squad ensured there was no panic stations.
"We were lucky we had a really consistent squad, we felt as though we had lots of depth and the ability to rotate players so we were able to do that throughout the day," she said.
"It was probably just our goalers, we had one go down in the third game so it was a long day for them, but for the most part we were able to rotate the squad and give us fresh legs.
"It's testament to our depth within the squad because we didn't have any players we didn't have full faith in."
With the Hampden league enjoying stellar success throughout the champs, with the squad now set for state titles, the Cobden coach said the sky was the limit for the talent in the region.
"Nadine and I play against a lot of these girls and sometimes you do forget that they are still juniors," she said.
"We're used to seeing them on the open court but seeing our Hampden girls especially, and we also had a great game against the Warrnambool and District side who were fourth, it was exciting for us in this Warrnambool region to see the talent and depth between two really solid competitions."

It was also a grand day for the 13 and under Hampden league team, who defeated Ballarat Netball Association 28-11 in the grand final and went through the championships without a loss.
The squad enjoyed a dominant day on the courts to coast through to the decider, where they lead from start to finish to clinch the title.
Despite a brilliant campaign, the 15 and under Hampden squad fell narrowly short to Ballarat Netball Association 17-12 in the grand final.
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