OUYEN United blasted their way into the A Grade preliminary final with a thumping 67-29 rout of South Mildura at the Brian Weightman Oval courts on Sunday.
In a thoroughly dominant display, the Kangas were never seriously threatened and, in a case of finals déjà vu, will meet Mildura at the same venue in the grand final qualifier for the second year running on Saturday.
Ouyen United were dominant all over the court with crisp passing and staunch defence but the highlight of their game was the performance of 14-year-old goal shooter Maggie Smith, who was near unstoppable under the net with a whopping 40 goals.
“She (Smith) was phenomenal today,” coach Kyra Nathan said.
“To be honest, I was a little bit worried about the nerves getting to her being so young … about halfway through the season we started working with her. We didn’t to overwhelm her too soon.
“She plays goal keeper and goal shooter … we had a gap in our goal shooting circle and we needed a tall and we pulled her in and she just keeps getting better week after week.”
While Smith’s performance was outstanding, the team’s overall performance stunned Nathan.
“We were very nervous about today and when it’s knockout time because maybe next week you don’t get to play.
“We’ve had really tight contests against South and we thought it was going to be a bit of a grind. I think we were just disciplined and didn’t throw the ball away and the goals went in.”
With the Bulldogs in the rearview mirror, the Kangas now face the Demons in the do-or-die encounter.
“They are fast and physical and have great shooters and are really tough to beat,” said Nathan, whose side held Mildura to a draw in their second-round encounter – the only point, apart from two home-and-way losses to undefeated Wentworth, the Dees have dropped this season.
“You take it one step at a time and stick to the process,” the victorious coach said. “You don’t look too far ahead. It’s every pass, every goal and your focus on that.”
Smith was clearly best on court and Esther Manley was also named among Ouyen United’s two best in a very even team performance.
Sharne Lane and Jasmin Thompson were nominated as South Mildura’s top performers.
