Sale won two junior netball premierships on Gippsland League Grand Final day.
The Magpies had all teams in, and came away with flags in the 15 and Under and 13 and Under stakes.
It was very nearly a clean-sweep, with the unfortunate 17 and Under side losing by just one goal.
The 13s started the day brightly for the black and white, getting up in a thriller 38 to 36 over Traralgon.
The win completed a good turnaround for the youngsters, who had lost the second semi-final by seven goals to the same opponent.
Lexi Doherty played a captain’s game, and was awarded the best-on-court medal.
The winning team was: Doherty, Jess Reid, Charlie Paterson, Jess Gerrand, Liv Stothers, Lilly Fullgrabe, Lily Wheeler, Kiah Douthat, Amarni Hall, Toby Turnbull and coach Lisa Bigham.
Sale then made it two from two with victory in the 15s.
The Magpies might have been overcome with a sense of deja vu, as the Grand Final score was very nearly identical to the second semi-final.
Sale won the Grand Final against Traralgon 34-31, and funnily enough, the score in the semi-final was 33-31 Sale’s way.
The black and white faithful had to do as their AFL counterparts have many times this season and pull victory out of the bag.
The Magpies were down by three goals in the final term but crawled it back to draw level before hitting the lead and holding on.
An ecstatic crowd joined in on the postgame celebrations, which were helped by the waiting 17s team who got around their younger clubmates.
Maziy Duck was Sale’s best player in the big dance and duly took the best-on-court medal.
The winning team was: Mia Ballinger (captain), Mahli Stothers, Tarla Stewart, Duck, Ash Reid, Molly Firth, Ruby Fullgrabe, Mackenzie Lett, Aliesha Turnbull, Ebony Silvester and coach Jo Ballinger.
Unfortunately, the Magpies couldn’t quite complete the hat-trick, losing the 17s in a pulsating game that saw Traralgon win their one flag for the day.
The minor premier survived a huge scare and eventually won 37-36.
Traralgon led by three goals at quarter time before both teams shared nine goals each in the second.
The Maroons outscored the Magpies 11-8 in the third to lead by six with one quarter to play. Traralgon then held on for dear life as Sale scored nine goals to four in the final term.
Traralgon skipper and defender Emily Scholtes added to her list of achievements, taking out the best-on-court honour.
With last Saturday marking 10 years since Sale’s last A Grade netball triumph, these young players could form the nucellus of the next Magpies senior premiership team.
