The West Coast Warriors have cemented their place as one of the most dominant sides in recent memory with a complete 68-51 victory over an inspired Curtin Hamersley Comets in the Grand Final of the 2020 Gold Industry Group West Australian Netball League.
Just as it was when the two teams played in the opening match of the season at the start of July, the Comets came into the final match of the season as heavy underdogs against the Warriors side.
Unfortunately for the Comets, the Warriors got off to an expected fast start, with star goal shooter Donnell Wallam (54/61) proving too much for 19-year-old goal keeper Chelsea Bartlett as she led the Warriors to a 20-10 quarter time lead they never looked back from.
Speaking after the match, Warriors captain Helen Taylor was full of praise for the goal shooter, who also went back-to-back herself taking out the MVP for the second time.
“She’s just amazing every game, you really can’t fault her,” she said.
Coach Lorraine Ward added, “We saw she had 959 goals for the season, so we wanted to get her to 1000 and we went over it.”
Wallam continued her march in the second term, with her superior height and reach giving the Warriors a massive advantage when moving forward.
Not to be denied, champion Comets shooter Sarah East tried to single-handedly tear down the dogged Warriors defence in the second half of the term.
Despite the efforts, the Warriors stretched their lead to 38-22 by half-time, with goal attack Hana Stokes working herself into the game as Wallam got double-teamed.
But the Comets refused to lie down and came out strong in the second half, scoring three of the first four goals as Bartlett evened up her one-on-one with Wallam and the Comets closed the gap in skill and intensity across the midcourt.
Despite the Comets clawing back to a 51-38 three quarter time deficit, Ward was confident the Warriors would hold in the final term.
“We just had to keep our crew together and on focus,” she said.
“They all knew their roles, that’s how we got here in the first place, and I knew they had the heart and the grit to do what they had to do.”
The Comets will be left to rue a number of crucial goals through the second and forth quarters, with a conversion rate of just 69 per cent (25/36) for the terms and 76 per cent (51/67) halting any potential momentum swings they were able to build up.
But the future looks bright for the Comets, who went winless last season, with the young side poised to rise just as high or even higher in 2021 after a remarkable season few saw coming.
As for the Warriors, the back-to-back champions will be celebrating the night away, but for the team which captain Helen Taylor describes as family, the sky’s the limit in 2021.
20U: Western Roar defeated East Freo Sharks, 54-36.
MENS: Western Roar defeated West Coast Warriors, 48-33.
