Will the regular contender do the deed, or is it time for some new colours on the trophy? It’s the central question behind this weekend’s B grade grand final showdown between Bonnie Doon and Whorouly. Bonnie Doon has contested the last four B grade premiership, winning two, while the Lions have made just one grand final since their more recent 2010 flag. However, it’s been the Lions who have been spreading fear in the competition all season, winning all but two of their clashes – including a semi-final loss to the Bombers - to book a ticket to the last match of the year. Coach Sally Sharp said keeping pace with the club’s powerhouse A grade side had been a motivating factor for the side throughout the year. “We’ve been really lucky this year, we’ve been pushed by A grade, we play them every week at training, so it’s been really good for our girls to have that challenge week in, week out, and it’s been able to push them and get to this level of making the grand final,” she said. “I think we’ve had an unreal season, just the one loss in the regular season and then the loss in the first final to Bonnie Doon, so it’ll be good to see how we go this week. “[After the semi-final loss] we got back to playing our game, reinforced our structures, and this week we talked about what we need to do to beat them and their game plan. “We’ve tried to really work on that this week, hopefully we have some success on the weekend.” The ever-present in O&K netball in recent years, Bonnie Doon stated their credentials in their semi-final triumph over the Lions. Bonnie Doon head coach Cass McCormack said the full and firing squad didn’t have a weak link. “Very similar to our A grade we’re an ‘all over the court’ team, we have strengths at both ends and midcourt, and I think our consistency with our teamplay is probably what’s going to get us over the line,” she said. “It’s a theme of our season, we’ve had some upsets with injuries, especially with A and B grade, so we’ve had to chop and change with the teams. “We’re finally settled in the last few weeks and we’ve been able to use players for full games which has made a bit of a difference coming into finals.” The B grade decider between Bonnie Doon and Whorouly kicks off at 1.30pm Saturday.
