Finalists emerge after Albury's North East Zone Association Championships

The Ovens and Murray representative side defeated Albury Netball Association by two goals in a close encounter, having downed the Goulburn Valley League in the semi-final to qualify for the top two.

It was a big weekend of netball for the league's juniors, who also met the GV League for an interleague clash at Mooroopna on Saturday.

While Wodonga Raiders' Mia Lavis, Lily Kelly and Ava Koschitzke and North Albury's Audrey Adams donned O and M's colours on Saturday, they joined forces with Albury Netball Association on Sunday to play against their interleague teammates.

Both sides will now contest the Netball Victoria Finals Day on July 24.

"It's great to see kids back playing their sport after a couple of years off with Covid," Ovens and Murray coach Jodie House said.

"Once we finished our semi-final game the first thing our girls were interested in was not so much about Melbourne or a grand final, but wondering if the Albury Gold girls won because they wanted to go to Melbourne together.

"That was our first time beating Albury Gold, so it was certainly a nice confidence boost for our kids."

House also praised the efforts of young gun Zoe Prentice, who was crowned best on court during Saturday's interleague clash.

"She's the captain of the Ovens and Murray side and she was certainly like a true leader on the weekend," House said.

In the other finals on Sunday, Albury defeated Goulburn Valley 15-7 in the 15-under championships division, while Corowa and District won by two goals against Netball Wodonga White in the 15-under reserves.

ALSO IN SPORT:

Murray Netball League defeated Netball Wodonga 20-9 in the 13-under championship final, with Netball Wodonga edging out Albury Blue 21-9 in the 13-under reserve decider.

The top two finalists from each grade will also join the Ovens and Murray and Albury's under-17s at the next stage in Melbourne.

Around 40 teams and close to 400 players from the North East region took to the Albury courts for the carnival.

"I think the beautiful weather helped bring the crowd as well as all of the players that were there," Albury rep netball coordinator Leonie Mooney said.

She also thanked all of the parents and volunteers for their efforts in making the carnival a success.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: