Shepparton’s Molly Kennedy, Sophie Harmer, Hannah Crawley and Caitlyn Tuohey are ready for action.
Across various sporting codes and leagues in the Goulburn Murray region this September, multiple sides who have gone undefeated in 2025 have fallen short at the final hurdle.
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Shepparton’s A-grade netball side is ensuring they won’t be next.
With an 18-0 record on the year and flawless finals series to date, the Bears are primed to take out the Goulburn Valley League flag.
But with no loss to its record there comes added pressure, although its a weight of expectation Shepparton playing coach Kim Borger embraces.
“The goal has never been anything other than to win a premiership,” Borger said.
“It’s (the flawless season) a happy by-product I guess, obviously it does add a bit of pressure to make sure that we do show up on the day and perform.”
In previous meetings, Shepparton has, obviously, gotten the better of its grand final opponent Euroa - albeit, not without a challenge.
Borger conceded she “threw a few things around” in the pair’s home and away match-up to gauge strengths and weaknesses, knowing the reigning premiers would lie in the path of glory at some stage in September.
That vision came to fruition immediately.
The Shepparton Bears have a tunnel vision focus on a grand final win.
The Magpies and Bears faced off in the qualifying final, and the undefeated side was forced to grind out a gritty result against a never-dying Euroa.
Shepparton produced an early lead of nine but was forced into an arm wrestle to maintain the advantage, with the lead slimming down to as little as one in the fourth quarter, but the Bears held onto a five-goal victory, 59-54.
Wellman Medallist Borger notched an effort one shy of a half-century, placing her side on her back when needed to get over the line.
The former Melbourne Vixen stated she expects another spirited challenge from the Magpies on Sunday after attending Euroa’s statement preliminary final thrashing.
“I actually went down to the game (Euroa versus Seymour) and took some notes about anything that I saw to take that into training this week,” Borger said.
“Just to hone in on things they did quite well and things we may need to cover on Sunday.
“We are going to have our hands full, Euroa absolutely annihilated Seymour in that first quarter, so we need to make sure we get on top of them early.”
Euroa coach Ellie Warnock echoed the same sentiment about the fierce contest, but holds faith in her side for the decider despite results falling against the Magpies in previous encounters.
Euroa player-coach Ellie Warnock has helped guide her side into this weekend's GVL grand final.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
“We definitely believe we have the ability to go all the way again this season,” Warnock said.
“I think Shepp actually have a really similar team dynamic to us, which makes the match-ups really interesting.
“Each time we’ve played them we’ve focused on how we can improve in regards to all match-ups down the court, so hopefully this time we can get ourselves over the line.”
While Borger took the initiative to scout her opposition last weekend, Warnock is backing in the system the Magpies have kept at all year that delivered another grand final appearance.
“The game plan for us stays the same,” she said.
“I back the girls 100 per cent to play their role, each one bringing their own personal strengths to the team.
“I’ll trust in that and make adjustments as the game unfolds depending on what’s happening out on court.
“If we play our best netball I think we have what it takes, but who knows in finals netball, anything could happen!”
The first whistle will be blown at 2:40pm on Sunday at Deakin Reserve.
