Finishing in fifth place with a record of 12-6, the Murray Bombers, led by co-coaches Greta Pearson and Jacquie James, had a stroke of luck in the first week of finals.
Sixth-placed Shepparton Swans downed Shepparton Bears, making Echuca, which won over Mooroopna, the highest-ranked winner, progressing the Murray Bombers to a grand final qualifier.
Echuca then swept past Euroa to be the first side into the grand final, with Seymour joining it last weekend.
“It’s so exciting,” Pearson said.
“Obviously, coming from fifth, it felt like it was going to be a task to get to the grand final, but we knew we could do it.
“We’ve had a really good final series so far.”
It has been a challenging year for the club to establish consistency, with a long injury list among the netball contingent.
Missing players in the A-grade side has meant B-graders have been called on to plug gaps, which likely contributed to the side’s mid-table finish, but the squad has been together and firing during the finals.
“It’s definitely been a disruptive year with lots of injuries across the club, which has just meant that people have played in different grades,” Pearson said.
“Lots of the B-grade girls have been playing up in A-grade at times, so Jacquie and I do feel like it’s been a little bit disjointed at times, but we’ve been able to stick together as a team and been able to develop some consistency going into finals.
“Having our whole team through the finals series been really important for us, and obviously showing that when we do have everyone there, we can have a good win.”
Echuca has only faced off with Seymour once this season, back in round 11, where the Lions prevailed by 16 goals, but after scouting their opponents in the preliminary final, Pearson is confident her side has what it takes to turn the tide in the decider.
“Going and watching them on Sunday was really interesting,” she said.
“They’ve got two tall timbers either end, and they look really consistent across the court.
“We feel confident that we can combat those tall ends, but we are going to have to stick to our game plan and execute to win.”
The B-grade grand final is scheduled for 1pm on Sunday.
