The Dragons are through to tomorrow night’s Big V Youth League 1 Women championship game, but the road they travelled to the Big Dance was anything but smooth.

They wore some bruises along the way during a testing campaign before coming from fifth to beat McKinnon and Eltham in back-to-back finals games to advance, giving coach Danni Fidge and her staff plenty to be proud of.

“We have had a great season,” Fidge said on the eve of tomorrow night’s grand final against Bulleen. “We had a wonderful start being 9-0 and had a tough patch in the middle, which really made us work even harder and get back to basics.

“This year we felt everybody had opportunities to shine and really improve. We are extremely proud of the group, which overcame many challenges of injuries and sickness throughout the year.

“One of the best things has been how the team has grown. They have worked incredibly hard and have more belief and trust in each other and their own abilities.”

All of which was on show at Eltham High School last Saturday night, where Camberwell fell behind early before rallying in the second half to reel in, and go past, previously unbeaten Eltham in a memorable semi-final.

“Eltham have been the top team all year,” Fidge said. “We were close to them during the season, so we knew could get them if we played well.

“It was exciting to beat them last week to make it to the grand final. It has made it even more special. But we know we are not done yet and have to continue to stay focused and locked in for one more game.”

That game is against Bulleen at East Doncaster Secondary College tomorrow night (August 12). Game time is 7pm.

Send your messages of support to Danni and her team to communications@camberwellbasketball.com and we’ll share them for you.

And if you’re at the game tomorrow night, send your photos and highlights to us at communications@camberwellbasketball.com