South Warrnambool's Meg Kelson excited, nervous ahead of Hampden league grand final against Cobden

Back-to-back under 17 flags in 2018 and 2019, Kelson was a difference-maker in the latter to be named best-on-court.

But this season rings differently with Kelson, 19, and her teammates lifting the Roosters into their first open grade grand final in 32 years.

"It's so exciting," Kelson said. "It's been a very long time.

"It will be special to so many people at the club, even people that don't play, it will just mean so much. It will be massive."

The Roosters were powerhouses in the senior competition in the late 1980s but haven't reached the pinnacle since 1990.

A young group has been behind the Roosters' rise to minor premier status this year, with an average age of around 20, according to Kelson.

"We're a very young team which has definitely helped off the court," Kelson said. "We get along really well because we're a similar age and we have a lot in common. Building that relationship off the court helps on court."

Kelson, who has played at South Warrnambool since under 12s, credits first-year Roosters coach Will Jamison for improving her game this season.

The midcourter spent the first half of the year in centre before shifting to wing defence.

"Every week (Will's) giving feedback on what to work on and what to keep doing and what I should stop doing," Kelson said.

Jamison's connections with elite netballers, including Australian national player Kelsey Browne, has also contributed to Kelson and her teammates' development.

Brown was a guest at training earlier in the year while South played a practice match against members of the men's Victorian team last week.

"It was so amazing, we had Kelsey come down when we played Camperdown and she was so good for everyone," Kelson said. "She helped out with every position on the court. It was good to have someone with Suncorp (Super Netball League) experience bring in the knowledge they have and give that to us."

Ahead of the grand final match up against Cobden, Kelson said South would need to focus on its own game, instead of the Bombers, in their third grand final in three seasons.

She said excitement and nerves were the primary feelings after winning a semi final against the Bombers with a goal after the siren.

"(Cobden's) been in this position a couple times before, so we know they'll definitely want to win this year," Kelson said. "We need to be staying calm and composed and playing our game and putting everything out there we've practised at training.

"We can't afford to drop at all because we know they'll just run away.

"We know they have that experience but we're trying to focus on ourselves and not worry about that. We know we can win it if we put the full 60 minutes out on the court."

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