KDL ǀ Gallery ǀ Avenel completes perfect 15-and-under season with dominant grand final victory

Avenel coach Donna McDonald said a special group of kids had come together and gelled on the court throughout its undefeated season.

“They’ve worked so hard all year to go undefeated,” McDonald said.

“They’re such a good bunch of kids. They’ve improved out of sight, really.”

McDonald said a nail-biting 34-33 preliminary final win last week had tested the nerves as the Swans were almost dealt their first defeat of the year.

But the Avenel mentor said her side was cool, calm and collected on the big stage on Saturday.

“They worked together as a team and they pushed themselves a little bit harder and hassled further down the court,” McDonald said.

“Their shooting was spot on today. They were a bit more relaxed this week after last week — they were a bit stressed.

“This week they were a lot more relaxed and you could see in the way they played, it flowed a lot better.”

At the heart of most good things for Avenel on Saturday was mid-court magician Ben Morgan, whose towering presence and electricity across the court proved crucial to the Swans’ win.

McDonald said the best-on-court performer was one of many in the team who had made great strides this year.

“Young Ben Morgan, I’ve coached him for a couple of years now and he’s just improved out of sight,” McDonald said.

“A couple of the younger girls coming up, they’re stepping up as well. There was a few earlier in the year who couldn’t quite catch and they would step a lot, but now they never let the ball go, they know it’s theirs and they really push for it.

“They play with a lot of freedom and they play how they like to play. You only have to guide them a little bit and they go from there, and that was what they did today.”