Shepparton’s Kim Borger was dominant up forward, outscoring Seymour on her own.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
The Bears are in.
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A Kim Borger clinic has shot Shepparton through to a Goulburn Valley League netball grand final, after a damaging fourth quarter ripped the chance of an upset victory from Seymour’s grasp.
With the pair’s last encounter ending in a draw, the match was anyone’s for the taking despite the Bears’ intimidating zero-loss record.
In a cut-throat opening term, it would be the Lions that edged out a slim advantage, holding a scoreline of nine goals to 10 at the first break.
Goal scoring juggernauts Borger and Lion Ellie Fuhrmeister traded blows through the early stages of the second term, but as the latter portions of the period arrived the former Melbourne Vixen flexed her muscles in the clinches, delivering 11 of Shepparton’s 12 goals for the quarter as the Bears pinched a three-goal lead at half-time.
In the third term, Seymour once again claimed a quarter win by a goal, reducing the margin to two and leaving the contest wide open for anyone to take.
But Borger ensured it was her Bears who booked the first spot in the 2025 grand final.
The destructive goal shooter nabbed five of the opening six goals for Shepparton in the final quarter, sending the lead out to six.
While Seymour tussled for a couple of minutes halfway through the last, Borger once again stepped up to the plate with every pass that found her in the goal circle, nailing another six straight.
A goal to Sophie Harmer put Shepparton up 12 and the game out of Seymour’s control and, despite two late goals netted by Fuhrmeister, Borger’s Bears were through to the Deakin Reserve decider, winning 42-32.
Seymour's Bridie Cantwell dishes a pass near centre court.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Shepparton's Caitlin Tuohey shapes to pass.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Shepparton's Sophie Harmer played as a strong supporting cast in the front court.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Shepparton's Caitlin Tuohey finds Sophie Harmer in space.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Seymour's Ellie Fuhrmeister and Shepparton's Keeley O’Dwyer
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
On Sunday, a mammoth Magpies third term has ended Mooroopna’s season.
One goal split the teams at half-time, but Euroa found its footing in the slippery conditions and began to execute.
A focus on consistent intensity was the key for the Magpies, knowing one team would eventually fatigue in the trying, competitive conditions – as Euroa found out the hard way against Shepparton the previous week.
“We just spoke about intensity and keeping that intensity for the whole four quarters,” playing coach Ellie Warnock said.
“One (team) is always going to generally slow down and we just kept that pace.”
A physical battle compounded by slippery conditions, Euroa worked the circle with short, sharp passes, each one with deliberate intent to set up the Magpies’ goalers Olivia Morris and Mia Sudomirski, who scored nearly every time without fail in the second half.
“They were 100 per cent on every single pass to each other, just really sure of the ball,” Warnock said.
It sets up an enticing preliminary final against the Lions this weekend, before the victorious side faces Shepparton for a second time this September.
Warnock said the plan remained simple and much the same.
“They’ve got tall defenders, so it will be a similar deal to today,” the goal keeper said.
“Being sure of every pass into the goals, because that’s where we can tend to slip up every now and then, but we were able to do it well today.”
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