After going down to the Waves in the semi final two weeks ago, the Falcons were out to seek redemption.
The Falcons dominated the game from the first quarter, taking a four-goal lead at the first break and maintaining that lead until the end.
The Waves put up a fight early in the fourth quarter, coming within a goal, but the intensity of the Falcons at both ends was too much. Falcons walked away with a 12-goal win a gold around their necks.
City West have been known as one of the toughest competitors in the VNL, having seen now 14 premiership title wins since their inception as a club in 2009.
“We thought they had a really solid year and there’s a lot of new players in the group which has allowed a new sense of connectivity to develop across the group
“It’s a really good to honour our sponsors this year and Altona Netball Association with this finals win. We want to reward them as much as we can because the partnerships are so important to how we go,
“With all the work we do with the Altona Juniors, a lot of those girls came out to watch and cheer on our 19’s and I feel we gave them the best experience we possibly could. Them and our crowd were so loud that people said they couldn’t hear a thing.
“Particularly in that last quarter we took a couple of intercepts and the crowd just went ballistic and the team clearly lifted,
“At the end of the day, our team put on a great show and hopefully helped these kids see that there is a great pathway to VNL, and they’re in it too.”
Player of the Match went to Faclons’ defender Mel Oloamanu, however according to Lind it really could have gone to any of her Falcons players.
“I really thought it was hard to pick a stand out player to award because everyone played at such an exceptional standard with a tight team effort where everyone played their role,
“Mel’s had a good year. She captained the Australian School Girls, she played at nationals, and now she’s finished off with an MVP on court,”
“We’ve got some real fighters in that group with a very much ‘never say die attitude’.”
With a such an acknowledged reputation, Lind said they will keep their coaching and club methods going that have worked for them over many years.
“There’s a number of things we do as a club and since the inception of the league we haven’t missed a final, so it must be working.
“The way we keep that going is to have a competitive squad and have players from all our three divisions train together so some of the new girls get that elite experience and mentoring from more well-versed Championship players.
“Our junior development program has also fed in some amazing young girls that are ready for VNL before they even hit the age to play.”
Falcons can assure all their fans that they are not going to end their winning streak any time soon and will continue their efforts in 2020 when the VNL competition resumes.
