COLLEGIANS Mystified's relentless start to Saturday's Bathurst Netball Association A grade grand final proved the difference, seeing off Panthers 43-33 in appalling weather conditions.
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It was the work the defending champion Collegians side did during the dry conditions which proved telling.
Mystified's accurate shooting, pinpoint overhead passing and suffocating defence all played a part in their 11-2 run to start the match.
From there Panthers were always playing catch up netball.
When the rain struck midway through the second quarter there would be little separating the teams for the remainder of the game.
It was simply Collegians' lightning quick start that made the difference.
Lucy and Georgia Teirney weren't at full shooting efficiency in the wet weather but by sheer volume of shots they helped push Collegians clear.
It was at the defensive end where the hard yards were done by player of the game Teagan Germech and goal keeper Sam Thompson.
"We weren't overly nervous going into it. During this morning's team breakfast we watched the Swifts' game and I said 'Girls, how they came out in that grand final, that's what we need to do. We need to play hard and fast in the first quarter and that's what we did," Collegians coach Melissa Noonan said.
"I'm so proud of all of their performances. Everyone really stepped up.
"We'd had team goals throughout the year for what we wanted the score to be. We didn't do that in our last two games but we did that for this one. Today I wanted it to be a 10 goal gap and that's what they ended up doing."
Panthers coach Di Coombes said her side failed to match the intensity of Collegians in the opening term.
"They just weren't in the game. They adapted to the conditions and we didn't do that," she said.
"The first quarter was where they won it. After that they kept the same gap throughout the game.
"We started off too slow and we were left chasing for the rest of the game."
Collegians put themselves up 16-8 at the end of the first quarter.
As the rain hit in the next term both teams only slightly reduced their speed of play, still determined to put everything on the line in the challenging conditions.
Panthers got themselves within five goals but a four-point run to end the term got Collegians out to 24-16 at the break.
Collegians effectively iced the game with a seven-goal streak after half-time.
Turnovers piled up as the water volume on the court increased but it wasn't going to stop Collegians.