MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Minus Knox College, it will be a familiar line-up for the ISSA rural area schoolgirl netball finals, with parish mates Manchester High and Holmwood Technical looking to deny Denbigh High a grandstand finish in this year’s competition.

The Clarendon-based Denbigh, having failed to achieve the feat last season, are hoping to win their first junior and senior league double since 2001.

They will first look to defend their under-16 title against

the physically imposing Manchester High in the junior league final tomorrow, before trying to dethrone under-19 holders Holmwood Technical in the feature match. Both games are scheduled for the Manchester High School Court, with action set to get under way at 11:00 am.

But, regardless of entering the enemy’s camp, Denbigh are expected to start as favourites in both encounters. They were the most impressive team in the preliminary phase of the competition and affirmed their dominance with contrasting semi-final victories last Friday in Mandeville.

They eased past Titchfield High 33-21 in the junior division, before overcoming a tough Herbert Morrison Technical outfit 24-19 in the senior division.

“We are happy and grateful for both teams to be contesting the final, especially the seniors, because it was a very close game,” said the Denbigh coach Christine Bartley, in her post-game interview.

Looking forward to tomorrow’s games, Bartley added: “I know Holmwood is always a tough opponent, but we are a good team also, so we just have to turn up on the day, play our game and I know we will be successful. In the juniors, we have a pretty experienced team, and as the defending champions we are expected to win, so we are really hoping to do the double this time around.”

Despite being the most dominant rural team in the past decade, Holmwood came into last week’s semi-final with a point to prove following two second-round defeats to Denbigh and Knox College — their opponents in the last four. But while Knox proved a worthy rival, Holmwood’s place in the final for a 10th successive season was never really in doubt.

They led from start to finish, 9-5 in the first quarter, 18-13 in the second, and 27-22 in the third, before pulling away with a 35-29 triumph in the fourth.

“(It) was really a tough game,” said coach Carline Graham-Powell. “The rivalry with Knox was quite evident. However, our girls are fitter and more focused.

“Playing (against) Denbigh (in the final) is going to be a different type of game,” she added. “But, as rural champions, we are always expected to go for it (the title). We just feel it is ours.”

Of those in these finals, only Manchester High did not feature in last year’s deciders. But reaching this season’s final is no fluke.

In addition to winning the competition’s traditional opening day rally, the Simone Smith-conditioned outfit enter the championship game with an unbeaten record and are now bubbling with self-belief following a convincing semi-final victory (25-15) over Bellefield High. The comfort of home court advantage should do their confidence no harm ahead of this exciting match-up with Denbigh High.