STRATHFIELDSAYE has defied plenty of odds to be crowned BFNL A-reserve premiers for the first time, after surviving a one-goal thriller against Gisborne in an epic grand final at the QEO on Saturday. or signup to continue reading A goal after the siren by Siarne Cass delivered the Storm a breathtaking 40-39 victory against the previously undefeated minor premiers and red-hot premiership favourites. It was the Storm's first netball premiership success since their B-reserve win in 2019.
A see-sawing contest was marked by many lead changes, with the Bulldogs holding a two-goal lead at quarter time and the Storm in front by three-goals at half-time, before scores were tied at three-quarter time. In a frenetic finish to a fiercely contested encounter, Cass scored the last two goals of the match, about 80 seconds apart, to give Strathfieldsaye a rousing win. The Storm's Victoria Carroll was the winner of the best on court medal for an uncompromising performance in defence.
The club's first A-reserve premiership was hard won, after the Storm lost midcourter Amaya Schmidt early in the contest with a knee injury. Their misfortune was compounded when goaler and captain Lucy Spalding hit the court late in the second quarter. Spalding, the joint winner of the league's Holborn Medal alongside Kangaroo Flat's Emma Moroney this season, had to be checked for concussion, but was able to return to the court in the final quarter to play an influential role in the win.
Even getting to the grand .