Waratah-Mayfield are determined to shed the bridesmaid's tag in a fourth straight Newcastle District Cricket Association women's T20 grand final on Wednesday night.
They are the only club to feature in all championship deciders since the women's competition was introduced but are yet to lift aloft the winners' trophy.
Newcastle City, the back-to-back champions before Western Suburbs won last summer, stand in Waratah's way and took victories both times the two sides met this season.
The two encounters have been thrilling, decided in the final over.
Opposing captains Kirsten Smith (Newcastle City) and Emma-Jayne Howe (Waratah-Mayfield), who will be NSW Country teammates for the national championships in Canberra in the new year, expect another down-to-the-wire battle at No.1 Sportsground on Wednesday night.
"The first match was washed out but, in both of the games we've played, there's been a result in the last over," Smith said.
"That's what you want. You want the grand final to be a close competition, so hopefully it will be a thriller like the other games have been."
City have relied heavily on youth this summer and featured three players - Caoimhe Bray, Sienna Eve and Kate McTaggart - in the NSW Country team at the Australian under-19 women's championships in Perth this month.
They lost their first-round match to Wests on Duckworth Lewis method but have not been beaten since.
"We've got such a young team so it's been awesome to go from losing that first game to end up being minor premiers," Smith said.
"A lot of people were probably not confident, being such an inexperienced team, but we've got a lot of promising young talent.
"Waratah have pretty well been the same team for four years, and do have a lot more experience. They've done really well to develop their players and keep them in the game."
City beat Charlestown in the semi-finals and Waratah were comfortable winners over Wests.
"I'm really excited, a bit nervous, but hopefully Waratah can take it home with a fourth grand final," Howe said.
"The work has been shared around a bit. We've got really good team players. We all do our little one percenters and do our jobs.
"The last two games with City were down to three runs then one run, so it should be a really good match."
This year the NDCA women's competition grew from nine teams to 14, split across two divisions.
"It's absolutely awesome to see girls out there having fun and enjoying their cricket," Howe said.
"It's good to see it's growing and hopefully it can continue to grow for the future."
The division one Cup final will be at 6.15pm and follows the division two Plate title decider between newcomers Toronto and Hamilton-Wickham at 4pm.
"[No.1] is a great ground to play on," Howe said.
"I've played AFL there but never played cricket on it, so I can't wait. It's really good to see that we're growing and we get to play on such a good facility."
RELATED:
- Newcastle-based Greater Hunter Coast team get green light for NSW Premier Women's Cricket
- NDCA women's competition expands to 14 teams and two divisions in fourth season
- Newcastle paving the way with full pathway of girls cricket in 2022-23
- Helping the girls game grow in Newcastle Junior Cricket Association
WHAT DO YOU THINK? We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Newcastle Herald website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.
