MCUE defeated Wagga Tigers in the Riverina Netball A grade grand final.

A strong start from the Tigers had MCUE on their toes but for every break in centres Wagga managed, MCUE came back with two in the 48-37 win.

Playing-coach Mikaela Cole said the win was made sweeter by MCUE's narrow win in the A reserve game beforehand.

"I feel like it's even better after the A res had their very last minute win, it just really lifted our energy going out after that," Cole said.

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This week the team had focused on playing for each other and Cole felt she could see it reflected in how the team played.

"We spoke about using that as motivation when we started to get fatigued and the game started to get difficult, looking at each other and just really using ourselves as motivation for each other and wanting to play really hard for each other," she said.

Kaylah Upfield was awarded best on court by the umpires, after a dominating performance in the goal circle.

With Tigers expected to come out tagging Katie Coller, Cole relied on Upfield as a key shooting target and the 17-year-old delivered.

Playing in goal attack for the whole game, Upfield utilised her free space while Tigers tagged Coller. The combination of the two shooters were too strong for the Tigers defence, including league best and fairest player Jess Allen.

As MCUE continued to block Wagga's attack in the third quarter, frustrations were rising on and off court, and spectators took their frustrations out on MCUE centre Rachel King.

After a contact call was made in front of the unimpressed Tigers crowd, spectators didn't hold their tongues, causing ground managers to warn the crowd to settle or they'd be removed.

Despite it all, Cole led her team through example on the court, taking several key intercepts along the goal circle, regaining possession from Tiger turnovers.

Being on court with her team is integral to Cole's coaching style, which she says requires her to be hands on with her players.

Though the team maintained cohesive throughout all four quarters, there wasn't much talk on the court, though Cole wasn't opposed to a quieter game.

After players had been unable to hear umpires through some games earlier in the day Cole was glad she could clearly communicate with the team,

"I feel like it being a little less noisy helped me as a playing coach, because usually in these kinds of atmospheres, the girls can't hear me but I thought today they really could, so it was a bonus for me" Cole said.

Taking herself off in the fourth, Cole said she felt they had a secure enough lead at the end of the third to leave the game in the hands of her players.

"I just wanted all the girls to get a good amount of court time and I was happy that we had a solid lead and the girls could perform just as well without me," she said.

Though confident in her team, Tigers kept MCUE on their toes and it wasn't until the last five minutes that Cole felt comfortable in their win.

"Five minutes left in the last quarter I kind of relaxed and felt like we had it a little bit more, but never felt complacent before that," Cole said.

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