By Tara Murray
Rupertswood has been knocked out of the Riddell District Netball League finals by one goal for a second successive year.
The one-goal upset loss on Sunday against Rockbank, has left the Sharks thinking what might have been.
After finishing the regular season in second, it’s been a tough finals campaign that resulted in two losses.
Sharks coach Di McCormack was ruing the loss and how they had exited the finals.
“We thought we had a big chance with this team,” she said.
“We’re disappointed with how the season has ended. With a perfect run and perfect line up, who knows?”
Nothing separated the Sharks and Rockbank throughout the match on Sunday, with the lead changing several times.
Ultimately, the match came down to a shot after the siren.
Rebecca Hicks calmly slotted the shot to give the Rams a 46-45 win.
McCormack said the most frustrating thing was knowing they had played some good netball.
She said missing Clare Johnson for a second straight week due to Victorian Netball League finals had hurt them.
“We should have won by about five goals,” she said.
“I wasn’t unhappy with the performance and I didn’t think we deserved to lose.
“At pivotal moments things went against us and it changed the flow of the game.
“Credit to Rockbank.”
McCormack said Amy Starzer was the standout firstly in defence and then attack, while she was impressed with Lara Keating’s job at wing defence.
While the A-grade side is out, the Sharks other three netball teams are still alive.
The C-grade and under-19 teams are through to the grand final, while the B-grade will play in a preliminary final on Saturday.
