Orange Netball Association shrugged off a round one loss to secure their best Netball NSW Regional State Cup finish since 2015 at Sydney's Netball Central last weekend, storming to the grand final and ultimately claiming the silver medal.
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After blowing out the cobwebs in a one-goal, first-up loss to Hastings Valley the Thunder won their next seven preliminary games on the trot before being bested by Newcastle in the final round, finishing third.
They flipped the script on Hastings Valley with a dominant, 16-goal victory in the semi-final to set up another clash against Newcastle in the decider, they ran with the powerful Novocastrians too but were eventually bested 26-16.
"It was a great result and everyone played so well," Orange coach Linda Macleod said.
"We certainly weren't disgraced in the final, we ran with Newcastle in the preliminary round game too but they are just a really, really strong side, and a lot of them were in the side that won the [Netball NSW Hart Senior State Titles] open championship division.
"Orange has about 40,000 people and Newcastle has [300,000] so to be able to compete with them is a real credit to Orange netball, and how well all the players played on the weekend, it was really just a matter of a few turnovers."
The younger ones really stood up, with the more experience players guiding them well.
- Orange coach Linda Macleod
Macleod heaped praise on her troops' ability to continue improving and build through the gruelling weekend, proven in the way they turned around their round one loss in the semi-final.
"We were pretty rusty in that first game but we were blending a mix of youth and experience and while pockets of the side had played together, they hadn't played together as a whole," she explained.
"The fact we played Hastings Valley in that semi-final showed they were one of the best sides there, but we built through the weekend.
"The younger ones really stood up, with the more experience players guiding them well. Once the semi-finals rolled around we were playing a different level of netball."
Such was the performance of the group as a whole Macleod wasn't able to pinpoint an individuals as stand-outs, but she did mention a one of her personal highlights from the tournament.
"There's a lot of players in the side that have graduated from the [Western Region Academy of Sport], in the past of even very recently," she said.
"I coached Tegan when she was back at the Academy and a few of the younger players have graduated recently, so it was really nice to be able to coach those players."
The Regional State Cup brings together the champions of all the Bing Lee Regional Leagues around the state, Orange is now amid the selection process for next year's West-Central West title defence.
"It never stops," Macleod, who isn't locked in to continue her tenure yet, said.
"It was a good way for this group to finish the season though."
After that round one loss, Orange defeated Goulburn (37-6), Quirindi (32-14), Wagga Wagga (28-16), Lismore (30-16), Great Lakes (44-16), Ballina (34-15) and Queanbeyan (20-12) consecutively.
They finished the preliminary rounds with the second best attacking and defensive records and they fittingly face the best in both facets, Newcastle, in the decider.
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