COBDOGLA’S sixth straight Riverland division one tennis premiership has been described as a “good reflection” of the club’s outstanding junior program.
Cobdogla overcame an early challenge from Renmark Tintra to win Saturday’s grand final, played in ideal conditions at Waikerie, and claim its 14th title in the past 18 years.
Rank underdogs Renmark fought hard in the first round of doubles, but saw a potential 3-all scenario slip to a 1-5 deficit and any hope of a grand final upset quickly evaporate.
Cobdogla’s Shane Nettle said the club is in a strong position and would continue to focus on encouraging and developing juniors.
“We work really hard with the (local) school to promote tennis and it’s really reaping rewards,” he said.
“I think we’ve got about 60 junior members and we had three senior teams this year. We’ve got a really good group of 10, 11 and 12-year-olds who’ll hopefully push through to senior tennis in the next few years, so it all looks pretty good.”
Nettle and Will Swinstead helped set up the early doubles dominance, edging past Dean Schumann and John Pick 7-6 at second double, clinching the tie-breaker 8-6.
Renmark managed to snare the top double, when David Strongman and Warren Hill edged out Sam Butterworth and Hayden Carter in a tie-breaker, however Cobdogla duo Sophie Nettle and Jorgia Maczkowiack tipped the balance distinctly in their team’s favour by saving a match point at bottom double en route to a 7-5 win over Kierra Schumann and Tianna Adamczyk.
“There was a lot of good tennis in the doubles,” Nettle said.
“It was quite a warm day and because it was on hard court there was a lot of physical, longer rallies.
“All through of those three doubles could’ve gone either way. We were pretty lucky to be 5-1 up.”
The singles were smooth sailing for Cobdogla, which won five of the six sets.
Relishing the hard courts against the big-serving Strongman, Butterworth won the top single 6-3, while Carter was far too consistent for Warren Hill at second single.
Battling a slight calf injury and with his team already over the line, Nettle forfeited his single to Dean Schumann to ensure he could fulfil his obligations in the second round of doubles.
“There wasn’t really any surprises in the singles,” Nettle said. “In that first round of doubles they could’ve put a bit of pressure on us in the singles, but didn’t quite get there.”
Nettle paid tribute to his club and its strong culture.
“This year we had 18 five or six-year-olds out there, as part of our Hot Shots program,” he said.
“We’ve got a good committee, really good coaches and role models at the club and hopefully we keep pushing forward…”
Meanwhile Waikerie upset Berri to take the division two title, winning the decider 9-6.
The grand final was level at 6-all going into the second round of doubles, but Waikerie won all three to clinch the premiership.
The division three decider was even closer, with Moorook winning by a single game, with sets even.
The last match on court was the second-round doubles encounter between Loxton duo Jake Rubarth and Godrey Amaechi and Moorook’s Fraser Logos and Ollie Ackland.
The Moorook pair needed to win a minimum of four games to clinch the premiership, as their team already had five sets in the bag. They managed to achieve their goal, getting to four-all, before losing the final two games and the set, 4-6.
“I think they just took a deep breath after getting to four-all,” said Moorook spokesperson Daryl Hill.
“But we’re pretty proud of them and it was a great finish to the season.”

DIVISION ONE
Cobdogla 12-82 d Renmark Tintra 3-52.
Doubles: S. Butte