IT has been more than a decade since Waratahs has made a Bathurst Women’s Hockey Association A grade decider, but come Saturday the red and blacks hope to mark the return with a premiership.
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While rivals Kelso have made frequent grand finals appearances over the last 10 years, the Waratahs players have not been able to force their way into a decider.
“We’re not exactly sure when we last made a grand final, but it’s been a long time. It’s very exciting,” Waratahs defender Alecia Sharwood said.
“I think we’ve always had a pretty good side, but unfortunately we’ve not had the numbers at times, which has let us down. It’s been nice this season to have a full side.
“For us it’s great just to make the grand final, obviously it would be nice to win, but it’s nice just to make it because we’ve always had the ability to get there.”
Kelso finished the season as minor premiers, sitting 10 points clear of Waratahs after the regular rounds.
From five meetings between the pair the closest Waratahs had come to beating Kelso was a 3-all draw, the red and blacks having lost the other four encounters.
Kelso also had the best attacking and defensive records of any team.
However, in the major semi-final Waratahs sprung a 1-0 upset over Kelso to become the first side into the grand final.
Kelso had to avoid a sudden death preliminary final against St Pat’s to get another shot at the title, coming from a goal down to win 2-1.
Saturday’s grand final starts at noon at Bob Roach Field.