Koroit locks up third spot on Hampden league ladder against Warrnambool

The Saints secured third spot on the Hampden league ladder following a 28-goal win over Warrnambool on Saturday.

But they are likely without Warrnambool Mermaids players Mia Mills and Molly McKinnon for the crucial final, with the Big V best-of-three grand final series starting the same day.

Koroit coach Kate Dobson will look to the Saints' finals-bound division one and under 17 squads, who hold a bye in the first week of finals, for assistance.

Dobson said Indi O'Connor, who made her open grade debut for Koroit at just 12 years old on Saturday, would also join the team's bench for the final.

"We've had some 13 and 14 years old play (open) this year but Indi's 12, she'll be 13 at the end of the year," Dobson said of the debutant.

"We've been painting these scenarios for a couple weeks now, all our under 17s play up in senior grades so we had to look one step below that and Indi is a standout at her age.

"Both Indi and Indigo Sewell were on our bench (on Saturday) because they'll probably feature on our bench throughout finals."

The Saints dominated the final round match up against an understaffed Blues, 44-72, at Reid Oval. Dobson said she was pleased with her side's confident ball-play.

"You don't want to be overconfident but you've got to be confident in the ability of our team," she said. "And we do think we deserve that third spot on the ladder and we just wanted to play with that confidence."

The Blues stayed within an arms-length during the first half, with teenager Eva Ryan and division one's Keele Hillas impressing in goals in the absence of Jessica Thwaites (injured) and Amy Wormald (unavailable).

But with the Saints' depth on its bench and a well-drilled attacking end efficient when finding Nell Mitchell in goals, the away side had an obvious edge.

Dobson's highlight was the even spread of defensive pressure on both ends of the court.

"We say our goal shooter should be defending as hard as the goal keeper, " Dobson said.

Ahead of its elimination final against North Warrnambool Eagles, Warrnambool coach Raewyn Poumako was pleased with the way her midcourt worked the ball.

An injured Thwaites was court-side throughout the game and seen speaking to Ryan at the breaks, with Poumako confident Thwaites was a strong mentor for the teen.

"Jess is still young but she's got good netball smarts, so I think that passing that on is really good to the goalies," Poumako said.

Poumako believes the Blues and Eagles could be unknowns in finals due to player unavailability and injuries throughout the season, including the latter's Jordyn Murphy who suffered a season-ending knee injury a fortnight ago.

"It could go either way but everyone loves finals ...we're really looking forward to it," Poumako said.

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