Eagles soar as finals impress

Port Hedland Netball Association has hosted one of the biggest events on the sporting calendar with competitive teams and cheering crowds for its grand finals.

The whole season and efforts of the association’s 350 players culminated in a series of stunning grand finals games last week.

The Eagles rose to the top of the pack in the A-grade, taking the finals win 45 to 41 against Dragons in a hotly contested match where the Eagles trailed by one point going into the last term.

The Dragons secured a win against Eagles in the under-13s, 31-22 and claimed the under-17s 28-25 against Spectres. Lynx took a game off Dragons to win the C-grade final.

PHNA media spokeswoman Katie Evans said games across the season had been down to the wire and the finals were no different last week. “They have been really close, all of them have been within a few points. The under-17s was within four points and B-grade (Illusions versus Spectres) was so close that it was a draw and went into extra time. It has been a really competitive season,” she said.

“A-grade MVP for the season was Catelynn Gray from Eagles. Illusions beat Spectres in the B-grade final by one point in extra time, having drawn after the first full-time whistle.

“Holly Spurling from Illusions was the B-grade MVP.

“Karen Ballantyne was the Justine Leeds umpire of the year, awarded at the PHNA end of year presentation held on Saturday night. We also awarded two more life members, Lyn Poharama and Teneal Russell, for their extensive years of service to the PHNA.

“Dragons have had four teams in the finals, Spectres have had two and Eagles have had two and Illusions have had one — a really great turnout with the first finals we have had with the clubhouse open.”