The top two 19-and-under teams produced a fitting decider as the Northern Tasmanian Netball Association's season reached its grand finals.
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Division 1 pacesetters Gee Tees Gold and Longford Lashed had only lost to each other during the midweek season and finished separated by just one goal so it was no surprise when the same margin existed between them at half-time on Monday night.
Late goals in the first two quarters kept Longford in the contest at the Silverdome and they briefly hit the front after the break before Gee Tees pulled away.
Doubling their opponents' number of goals in the third term put them comfortably ahead before a dominant 14-3 last quarter set up the 41-23 victory.
With players as young as 14 and five backing up from a 17-and-under championship together last season, Gee Tees were delighted to receive their winners' medals.
Coach Anita Parish heaped praise on her young stars.
"They were amazing," she said. "They've matured a lot and that showed on court. They kept their heads, started strong and really gelled.
"I'm very proud of them. They've all worked very hard and earned it.
"Longford have been amazing opponents. They've been winning strongly. We knew they would be hard to beat and they gave us a strong run for our money but we were able to come home strong at the end and I'm delighted for them."
Goal keeper Naomi Clark was awarded the Gee Tees player of the final and goal shooter Erin Quillerat named NTNA most valuable player.
Clark, 17, said: "I'm overwhelmed. It was a really tough game and Longford were very good competition.
"We've had ups and downs all season but mostly ups and Longford were always going to be the hardest team to beat.
"We've learned a lot from our coach, Anita. She's been a huge inspiration to us and I love the support you get from each team member. We are like one big family."
The hard-working NTNA team were delighted to complete a difficult season.
Association officials said the uncertainty of the year had cast doubt over whether a roster could even begin so alterations were made including the top two teams progressing straight into grand finals.
Chairman Alison Filgate said: "We are so lucky that we have managed to have a roster and we expressly thank our dedicated staff who have put in many extra hours to ensure this roster even commenced and continued smoothly throughout this season.
"We are so grateful for all the contributors and volunteers that have helped us continue to deliver a high quality competition safely and securely in these testing times.
"With 2021 not that far away there isn't a huge break as we begin planning for the future."
We are so grateful for all the contributors and volunteers that have helped us continue to deliver a high quality competition safely and securely in these testing times
- NTNA chairman Alison Filgate
Finals kicked off with 19-and-under division 1, 2 and 3 plus divisions 4 and 5 on Monday.
The division 1 (Generation 1 versus Gee Tees Gold), 2 (Clovers versus Islanders) and 3 (an all-Amazonz affair) grand finals followed on Tuesday night and divisions 6, 7 and 8 on Wednesday.
The division 4 showdown between Deloraine Devils and Western Storm Tornado was forecast to be the most physical clash of Monday night and also proved the closest.
A thrilling contest went to overtime after finishing level before Deloraine, who had been clear leaders all season, won 39-38.
The division 5 final saw undefeated Amazonz defeat last year's Division 6 winners Longford Shaws 35-18.
One of the two previous meetings between 19-and-under division 2 finalists Islanders and Esk Comets had ended in a draw so another close encounter was predicted.
In the decider, Comets lit up the Monday night sky, the Esk outfit running away with a 39-25 victory.
Juniors finals will be played from 9.30am on Saturday.
Awards await
Nominations for the annual NTNA awards close on Thursday.
They are the Carol Arkley Award (for a junior who has unselfishly contributed their time to the association), the Maree McCullagh Award (for dedication to umpiring), the Windermere Trophy (for service to the NTNA and netball in Tasmania) plus the junior (under-18s) and senior coach awards.
Nominations can be emailed to ntna@ntna.org.au