"I don't think it's really sunk in yet."
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Those were the words of a teary-eyed Caitlyn Harvey after her Orange City side battled adversity and their opponents to be crowned Orange Netball Association division one champions.
The perennial powerhouse was plagued by the injury bug towards the back end of their campaign.
First it was a season-ending injury to Maddie Cole in their opening finals game and then a torn ACL suffered by Jodie Annis-Brown one match later, which was initially thought not to be that serious.
But with only seven available players - including Annis-Brown - the injured shooter strapped up her knee and took to the court away from from her usual position.
This was a running theme for City, as Tegan Dray dropped back into defence away from her typical centre spot and Harvey took on a shooting role.
"Somehow we still managed to pull it together today," Harvey said.
"We put a lot of pressure on ourselves throughout the season to work hard and back each other no matter what.
"It's extra special with that rough lead-in, that we managed to get the win today."
GK Kate Matthews was one of the few City players who lined up in her regular position throughout the match.
She admitted there were quite a few nerves prior to the 4.30pm start.
"It was a tough day, it was a long day waiting to play," she said.
"But finally taking to the court felt really good. We all did our jobs and we all played together and at the end of the day, I think that showed in the result."
With only "six-and-a-half" players on the court, Matthews was able to breath a sigh of relief after the win.
"We all play for each other, it's not about individual efforts," she added.
"We win as a team and we lose as a team."
Both sides started out shaky to open the game, but City were able to find their footing first and went into the half-time break up 20-16.
Without a bench, all eyes were were focused on whether City could close out a physical Vipers side.
Not only did they accomplish that, they thrived towards the end.
City outscored Vipers by ten points in the second half as the match finished 43-29.
Player of the match was awarded to City centre Bailie Miller whose belief that if they did the basics right, they'd come out on top, proved right on the money.
"I'm over the moon. I did not expect to get that win, it's crazy," she said.
"It shows our versatility and it shows that we play for each other."
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