The last team representing the Hawks to still be in the Outer East Premier Division finals mix were the Monbulk B Grade netballers.
They headed to Healesville in fairly ideal conditions on a cool and overcast Sunday to play in the Preliminary Final at the Don Road courts. Standing between them and a Grand Final spot were the experienced ROC (Rythdale-Officer-Cardinia) side. The two rivals had been evenly matched over the season, with Monbulk finishing just half a game ahead of the Kangaroos on the ladder. In their head-to-head clashes Monbulk had triumphed by 3 goals in Round 8, ROC had evened the honors with a 9 goal win in Round 17 before the Hawks claimed a mental edge with a 4 goal win in the Qualifying Final a fortnight ago.
Since the Monbulk Football Netball Club B Grade team had formed in 2006 they had made 9 out of 14 finals series prior to Covid, but had only ever reached the Grand Final on three occasions previously. In 2008 they defeated Warburton for their only premiership while they had since finished runners up to Wandin in 2013 and Woori Yallock in 2017. Their consistent performances during the season had seen them placed second after the home and away matches concluded and were the only side to have taken down Narre Warren over the course of the season.
When the game started it was ROC that settled down quicker to grab an early advantage before the Hawks struck back late in the first quarter and level the scores at 9 all by quarter-time. The numerous and vocal Monbulk contingent of supporters were coming into full voice by this stage. Monbulk looked good in the opening minutes of the second term but then the Kangaroos managed to find gaps, as well as intercepting passes, and by half time the Hawks found themselves down by 5 goals (20-15).
A few changes were swung in the third quarter as the Hawks looked to work their way back into the game. For a while this worked, before ROC finished off strongly to be ahead by 6 at the final change (30-24). With ROC displaying confidence and a fast attacking style by this stage, Monbulk were not able to keep up with their opponents as they were overrun in the final stages to eventually go down by 14 goals. To miss a chance of playing in a Grand Final was a disappointing finish to a season that had produced so many highlights for this team. The club is proud of the way this group has represented themselves and the community over the course of the year. With a fairly young list there is no doubt that they will continue to build in the coming years and success will eventually be the reward for their hard work.
Monbulk 29 def by ROC 43
Best: Georgia Himmelreich, Alice McCormick, Fleur de Wit
Goals: Iris de Wit 20, Olivia Crook 8, Dayna Walsham 1
