You’d have been hard-pressed to find a more delighted person than Forbes coach Robyn Kenny after her side caused a massive boilover to claim the Netball NSW Bing Lee West-Central West Regional League division two title on April 15.
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Even they it had been the only side to come within 10 goals of Bathurst in rounds one and two, Forbes was given next to no chance of taking down the undefeated minor premiers in the decider, in fact after finishing third it had already produced somewhat of an upset to beat Dubbo in the semi-final.
Kenny’s outfit did stop the Bathurst juggernaut though, securing a narrow victory in a grand final classic where the two sides were never separated by more than a handful of goals.
“I am a very, very proud coach,” Kenny said.
“The girls worked so hard at training, I couldn’t fault any of them anywhere and there’s always been a really positive attitude among the group, it’s so great to win.
“We had girls as young as 14 playing right up to the adults and they all just came together so well.
“This is our competition.
“For the smaller associations, we don’t have some of the bigger competitions to go and play in so this one means so much to us, that’s why it’s so important to Forbes netball.”
The two sides were deadlocked at quarter-time in the grand final and remained that way at half-time too, heading into the main break on level pegging at 22-22.
The third term has always been labelled the championship quarter and it proved that way for Forbes, as the powder blue and gold bibs edged to a two-goal, 33-31 lead at the final break.
We don’t have some of the bigger competitions to go and play in so this one means so much to us.
- Forbes coach Robyn Kenny
In a tense final quarter, Kenny’s troops held their nerve and lead to win.
“Bathurst had beaten us through the rounds (and) we had to make a few changes (in the decider) but everyone did the job,” Kenny said.
Forbes had been thrashed by Bathurst in the first round, going down 58-42 on March 4 but they stayed in touch in round two, only suffering a five-goal, 59-54 loss.
The improvement between those two results and the final is clear-cut, and Kenny said that marked lift was one of the most impressive factors in her side’s win.
“They just improved so much,” she said.