Werribee Centrals drowned out the white noise on their march to a fourth consecutive GDFL A-grade netball title.
The Centurions became victims of tall poppy syndrome, losing just one game in the past three years.
They have targets on their backs everywhere they go, but rose to every challenge this season.
“There’re a lot of haters who don’t want us to win, and we proved to them that we are the better team,” Centurions’ captain Nicole Stewart told Star Weekly.
Their four-peat was never in doubt – Werribee Centrals cruised to a 55-30 victory over Bannockburn on Saturday at St Albans Reserve.
The Centurions had charged out of the blocks to lead 18-5 at the first break, and it was always going to be hard to stop them from there.
To their credit, Bannockburn never gave up, and their competitiveness over the last three quarters ensured the scoreline did not blow out much further.
“We came out, had a strong start and did exactly what we had been planning in the lead-up,” Stewart said. “We wanted to force them to have to make changes.
“They made some moves, which worked for them, but we still managed to win every quarter, and came away with the win at the end.”
There is hardly a chink in the Werribee Centrals armour, with the Centurions able to draw on a rich talent pool, as evidenced by their B-grade grand final win over Belmont Lions.
The player they could least afford to lose would be goal shooter Ellie Tubbs.
Tubbs puts the finishing touches on most Centurions moves. She fired in 43 goals in a tough week on a personal front.
“It was a tough week for her with the passing of her pop,” Stewart said.
“We just asked her for whatever she could give us today, and she did exactly that.
“We all went out and played for her and for him.
“We’re glad that she could make it through today, and that we could get that win for her.”
Amy Giaini took out the MVP for best-on-court.
Giaini was a livewire at wing attack, feeding the ball into Tubbs and goal attack Jenni Rothery (12 goals).
“She was just dominating down there,” Stewart said.
“They put three people on her and she beat all of them.
“She was hitting with her drives and opened up the court for us.
“You couldn’t ask for a better game from her.”
Stewart was full of praise for Werribee Centrals’ defensive unit.
Amanda Wilson, Gemma Grimmond and Melissa Prismall all stuck to their tasks admirably.
“They just worked their butts off to get those intercepts and get us that win,” Stewart said.
The master coach Lina Iuta continues to deliver for Werribee Centrals. Even with personnel changing from season to season, Iuta keeps the Centurions at the top.
“She’s got us to where we’ve been,” Stewart said.
“She works so hard for us at training; she looks at other teams and the stats, and she just knows what we need to do to win.”
