Bombers fall short in flag decider

FOR the second successive year, hope turned into heartbreak for Cobden’s open netball team on Saturday.

By Support Team

Less than a week after capturing the league best and fairest, Amy Hammond was unable to add a premiership medallion to cap off an otherwise stellar season.

FOR the second successive year, hope turned into heartbreak for Cobden’s open netball team on Saturday.

Chasing the club’s elusive maiden top grade Hampden league netball premiership, the Bombers were defeated by Koroit 42-34 in the grand final, 12 months to the day they fell in the same game to the same opponent.

Coach Mel Starr said it disappointing for the group to once again experience defeat on the league’s biggest stage at the Reid Oval.

“The girls are obviously pretty devastated,” she said.

“We really wanted to do it for the club and reward the people who have supported us, but at the end of the day we were beaten by the better team on the day.”

The match was quite the spectacle early, with both sides trading goals as Koroit went into quarter time with a narrow one goal lead.

The contest remained tight throughout the second quarter, but the Saints were able to add valuable goals at crucial stages to push their lead out to three goals at the main break.

The game started to slip from Cobden’s grasp in the third quarter as Koroit lifted on the scoreboard, with the reigning premier outscoring the Bombers 10-7 to extend their lead to six.

It proved a valuable advantage as the two sides played out a close last quarter, with the Saints closing the game strongly to lift the trophy for a third consecutive year.