LAHARUM'S premiership defence couldn't have gone better, with the Demons remaining unbeaten for the entirety of season 2021.
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However, rather than pure form, Laharum's sparkling season was built on the back of an adaptability and a desire to keep improving, according to coach Erin Mellington.
Mellington said tough competition from sides such as Noradjuha-Quantong, Harrow-Balmoral and Kaniva-Leeor helped keep the Demons grounded and playing their best netball.
"We've had quite a few big wins, which is really good for our confidence, especially playing against really good sides in Harrow, Quantong and those sorts of teams. Kaniva was another great game," Mellington said.
"Sometimes when you're winning by quite big margins you're not really learning a lot, you're just playing to your game plan.
"But when you're playing against tough sides, you've got to adjust and learn what to do. They were really good games for us to find out what we needed to work on."
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The Demons finished the 2021 home and away fixture in first place on the ladder, barely missing a step even after a year off with the 2020 season cancelled.
However, it wasn't all good news for the reigning premiers, with the year's COVID breaks taking its toll.
"It's been a really difficult year for everyone, with the stop and start nature of it due to the coronavirus," Mellington said.
It was Laharum's ability to bounce back from the gaps between games that allowed the Demons to cement their authority on the competition.
"We've had a really good season from what we've been able to play. Obviously it's been a bit of an interrupted season, but I think we've done really well, bouncing back every week off the lockdowns," she said.
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"It's really hard to get back into the groove, but we've done pretty well adjusting to this uncertainty. As a team, we're very happy with our season."
Laharum finished the twelve rounds of 2021 unbeaten, with a frightening average winning margin of just under 36 goals.
Mellington had only praise with the way her players hit the ground running when netball resumed at the start of the season.
"We've got a very versatile team, everyone played really well considering they had the whole year off last year. Everyone's come back and haven't skipped a beat," she said.
"Faith (McKenzie), Liv Jones and Ash Bylsma have all really stepped up in the positions we needed them to. They played really well all season."
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Mellington also singled out Ema and Maddi Iredell for their hard work on and off the court.
"Ema and Maddi work so hard off the court, at the gym to get fit for the games. They absolutely peaked this year."
Even after a stellar season, there's always something to improve on next season, Mellington said.
"It's important for us to put together a solid four quarters, and we work on that every week in training from the start of the year, but it's probably the biggest thing we need to focus on."
Laharum will head into the 2022 season clear favourites, unless there proves to be a surprise upset in finals.
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