Pakenham Lions Netball Club has finally climbed back to the mountain top after the club pinned up a senior flag on the wall at Toomuc Reserve for the first time in six years.
Pakenham’s Division 1 C Grade outfit clawed out one of the gutsiest victories in the club’s long and proud history, overcoming Seville in the dying moments to win 48-47.
In a tight contest that neither team could take full control of, the Lions narrowly led at every change before the Blues got rolling in the final term.
A monumental two-minute patch from Seville in the fourth saw it score six goals to one, including two streaks of three consecutive goals to jump into the lead and push out to a four-score buffer.
With less than seven minutes left in the season, the run pushed Pakenham to the brink.
The Lions attempted to wrestle back momentum and string together one final punch, cutting the deficit to one goal with two-and-a-half minutes remaining.
Another Blues score knocked it back to two and suddenly they were in a commanding position; just needing to maintain centre pass to taste premiership glory.
However, Pakenham regrouped to one of the most inspirational last-ditch rallies in Outer East history, forcing two Seville turnovers in the back half and taking full advantage by scoring the last three goals of the match.
The Lions converted the all-decisive goal with 25 seconds on the clock and when the final siren blared, the sea of maroon and gold around the Yarra Glen courts rose to its feet and the celebrations began.
Pakenham had stolen victory in the most unlikely of circumstances, grinding out a heart-stopping finish that will forever be entrenched in Lions folklore.
Pakenham showed up when it mattered, being the only team to defeat Seville on the year with both victories coming in the finals series.
Kate Wicks from the Blues was named best on court in defeat as she did everything she could to try and get her team over the line.
“They talk about there’s no ‘I’ in team,” Pakenham netball head coach Karen Meredith said post-game.
“This team really exemplifies that.
“They work for each other and it doesn’t matter who’s on the court in what position, they just tag each other on and off.
“They take their opportunities when they come and when they come they work their butts off, they’re a really solid team.”
Playing coach Carly Saunders was thrilled to lead her side to victory after being part of the last club premiership back in 2019.
“We’ve worked so hard throughout the season, all the girls, every game, every training session, we’ve just worked and set our goal to this,” she said.
“It was just about being really composed during the game, I couldn’t be any prouder of them, that’s what I asked at the start, to just keep calm and they did it under all the pressure.
“They’re amazing, we back each other up.”
Despite coming up heartbreakingly short in the C Grade final, the Seville Netball Club enjoyed a dominant day on the courts with the club winning flags for fun across the Division 1 landscape.
The first of the day came in the 17-and-under grand final where the Blues put together a four-quarter performance to down Pakenham 30-16.
In the following game, Seville took care of business in D Grade after trailing the Lions at quarter time and the Blues ran out to the 28-20 victory.
A shoot-out in the B Grade big dance also saw the Blues triumphant, outlasting Pakenham 46-44.
To finish the day, Seville made it four-of-five by comfortably dealing with Warburton Millgrove 60-48 in the A Grade final.
In the Premier Division, ROC will lock and load with a shot at three flags on Saturday as the 15-and-under, 17-and-under and B Grade outfits contest in their respective big dances.
The A Grade preliminary final on Saturday was dominated by Wandin with the Bulldogs mauling Monbulk 65-41 at Gembrook Reserve.
Wandin will now aim to hand Mount Evelyn just its second loss of the season in Saturday’s grand final at Don Road Sporting Complex.
