THEY'VE won two straight premierships, but Mangoplah-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes coach Marie Hope has warned they've got plenty of improvement left after signing on for next year.
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During Hope's four-year tenure thus far the Goannas made a grand final in 2017, before winning the Riverina League in 2019 and the shortened AFL Riverina Championship this year.
MCUE recovered from a slow start in this year's grand final to beat Wagga Tigers 37-26, capping an unbeaten campaign in the two month season.
The Goannas have many young players coming through, including Phoebe and Claire Wallace and Ash Reynoldson, and Hope is keen to oversee the next stage of their development.
"We've still had a fairly young team for the last two years in particular. A lot of those girls, I'm expecting some of them to really hit their straps next year and start reaching their peak as players," she said.
"Especially having two premierships under their belts, it's exciting to see over the years when you have consistency in personnel to see that development.
"There wasn't a lot of opportunity this year to spend on developing players individually, because it was such a short season and it was about finding the best combinations that worked in the time available.
"It was very cut throat and some girls didn't get as much court time as they normally would, when you have two full rounds to work with you can try different combinations."
With gun goal attack Sophie Fawns off court early in the grand final due to an asthma issue, the Goannas opted not to replace her.
The Tigers took advantage of her short absence to take a handy lead into quarter time, but MCUE's defensive strength eventually took control of the game
"The end scoreline probably didn't represent the game in its full glory," Hope said.
"We were so fortunate to have a season and to see it through and get the ultimate success at the end of it, we're just so thankful to everyone who worked so hard to make that happen," she said.
"Not only was it a lot of hard work to get it off the ground, there was a bit of controversy around it so there was more at stake within the community than a regular season."
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