Macquarie hangs onto first Hawkesbury A1 netball grand final win

It was the first time Macquarie has claimed an A1 Grade grand final win.

Macquarie went into the half time break up by 15 goals, but the experienced Huxley side came back with an onslaught of pressure.

Huxley tightened the screws so much it was unclear who had actually won when the match concluded according to Macquarie goal shooter Lillian Marokakis.

“There were some people wondering whether it was a draw at the end,” she said.

“But when we knew the result there was a feeling of relief and excitement.

“The pressure of the grand final got to us and we were a bit nervous, but I think in the end we have such a positive and supportive team and no matter who was on the court there was support for them.”

Marokakis said the team was definitely nervous as the Huxley players fought back to regain the lead.

She praised the composure of Macquarie captain Sally Cain, who led from the front and kept her players calm enough to hold on for the win.

“Sally kept everybody cool and calm and commanded the court and everybody worked well off her,” she said.

“She scored a lot of goals and she was pushing through a lot of injuries and was on the court for most of the season.”

Marokakis said it was quite a feat for the team to win the grand final.

“Some of us have been playing together for a long time but we had a number of new players to the team,” she said.

“We also had a lot of injuries and players missing games all season. We were often playing out of position to cover injuries.

“It just shows how the girls can be versatile and be put in positions they don't normally play.”

In the other senior grades, Poppets had a big win over Riverstone in A2, winning 50-24.

Poppets also won in B1, beating Pitt Town-Oakville 32-24, while in B2, Pitt Town-Oakville beat Riverstone 36-30, and in B3, Green Hills just defeated Macquarie 30-29.

In C1 Grade, Schofields defeated Sullair 39-28, while in C2 Grade, Colo defeated Glossodia 49-41.