Bruthen claimed the Omeo District under-17 netball premiership, pulling away from Lindenow South in the final quarter of a skilful contest to win by six goals.
Both teams had periods of momentum, each stringing together runs of four and five consecutive goals, but the gap never blew out as both sides fought to stay in the contest.
It took until the final quarter for the young Bulldogs to seize control, showing poise at crucial times to create turnovers and convert them into scoring plays.
Lindenow South got off to a hot start, scoring the opening four goals with clean ball movement and defensive pressure that forced errors. However, Bruthen hit back rapidly to level the scores before taking the lead. It was a swift case of role reversal, with the Swampettes suddenly struggling to break down the Bruthen defence.
The opening term ended with a Bruthen goal to leave the scores locked at 6-6.
Bruthen surged to a five-goal lead early in the second quarter, taking control through the midcourt and finding easy scoring avenues. The Swampettes finally broke through to score, but conceded another three almost immediately as the Bruthen advantage grew to seven.
South continued to fight and hit back with four consecutive goals to reduce the half-time margin to three.
South carried that momentum after the break, netting the opening goal of the second half, but Bruthen regrouped quickly. The Swampettes closed the gap to two before the Bulldogs steadied with back-to-back goals.
The third quarter was a tight, back-and-forth affair, with the teams largely going goal-for-goal before South levelled the scores moments before three-quarter time.
Bruthen ultimately dominated the key moments in the final term, pushing ahead to a seven-goal lead on the back of crucial turnovers.
The final margin was six, though it could have been greater had the Bulldogs capitalised on a few late opportunities.
FINAL SCORE
Bruthen 31 d Lindenow South 25.
Best-on-court: Ruby Forbes, Bruthen.
attacking play.
