Sport
15 September, 2026
Navarre honours Zanaiya Bergen with Grand Final win
Days after the tragic passing of their beloved teammate, Navarre produced the most courageous performance in MCDFNL history, winning the A Grade premiership with a seven-goal victory over Carisbrook in an emotional Grand Final.
Following the Grasshoppers’ training session to prepare for Saturday’s decider, Zanaiya Bergen’s car crashed into a
tree on Stawell-Avoca Road Thursday evening. Emergency services airlifted the 23-year-old to hospital, where she later died.
Since joining from Rupanyup for the 2026 season, Zanaiya has helped Navarre’s dramatic rise from finals darkhorse to championship contenders to dynasty concluders, bringing a stunning end to Avoca’s astonishing 69-game unbeaten streak with a memorable preliminary final triumph.
With a sensational 593 goals in the regular season, Zanaiya was one of five Grasshoppers to be named in the MCDFNL’s Team of the Year earlier in the week.
More important than her netball talents, Zanaiya was an extraordinary and kind human being. Described by her team-mates as bubbly and heart-warming, Zanaiya was also a beloved personal aged care worker.
Following Thursday night’s heartbreaking news, everyone would’ve understood if Navarre elected not to participate on Saturday. Yet the Grasshoppers made the tough decision to play on, hoping to win the premiership for Zanaiya.
As they entered Grand Final day at Princes Park under unimaginable circumstances, the local sporting community wrapped their arms around the Grasshoppers. Players from all clubs wore black armbands and purple ribbons to honour Zanaiya.
After Navarre’s under 12 football and C grade netball teams became premiers earlier in the day, the club’s A grade squad looked to follow in their footsteps against a Carisbrook team hoping to end their 27-year A grade premiership drought.
From the opening centre pass, both teams’ talented mid-courts were passing beautifully in the attacking third, with Carisbrook’s Charlotte Cain and Katie Bilton and Navarre’s Sidney Dyer and Brooke Currie not giving opposing defenders a chance.
Excellent defensive pressure from Navarre’s Jade Allen produced the first centre break, kickstarting a 6-0 run for the Grasshoppers which delighted their army of supporters.
Carisbrook responded quickly, capitalising on Elise Mottram’s stellar rebounding to cut Navarre’s newfound lead to two.
Another Mottram takeaway looked poised to eliminate the Redbacks’ deficit before quarter time, but an outstanding hustle play from Grasshoppers player-coach Dyer allowed Aliza Lockhart to end her sharp opening term with a composed buzzer beater.
Returning from the interval trailing 15-12, Carisbrook started the second term brilliantly, with incredible interceptions from Mottram and Lauren Jones coupled with the precision shooting of young gun Abbey Nalder bringing them back on level terms.
With both teams trading goals as they preserved possession and showed clinicalness in the goal circle, the Redbacks made a change late in the first half, as Jade Richardson replaced Mottram at goal defence.
A pair of interventions from Navarre’s reliable goal keeper Grace Long threatened to rebuild their lead, but a late Cain steal ensured the two teams entered half time tied at 28 apiece.
The capacity crowd surrounding the Princes Park court continued to create an unprecedented atmosphere in the second half, which began with an immediate double centre break for Navarre.
Yet, as they did in the opening term, the Redbacks rose under adversity, benefiting from uncharacteristic misses from former Nalder Tracey Trophy winner Jess Parry before another excellent interception from Jones supplied a three-goal cushion.
With Parry quickly returning to her dominant best and their defensive pressure forcing Carisbrook into a scoring drought, the Grasshoppers netted six of the last eight goals in the third term to take a one-goal lead into the final quarter.
The palpable tension only grew as neither team could generate a centre break during the first four minutes of the all-or-nothing fourth term.
As the Grand Final hinged on every pass, Navarre’s 2025 Best and Fairest Amber Perry emerged as the fourth quarter hero.
After intercepting a Jordan Macilwain pass that subsequently deflected off Bilton and out of bounds, Perry read the play beautifully and rose high to tip a lobbed pass to Cain.
The Grasshoppers took full advantage of Perry’s heroics, extending their lead to five goals with eight minutes left.
The Redbacks threw caution to the wind as they fought valiantly to cause a late comeback, pulling to within three before Lockhart capped off a best on court performance with a remarkable interception that restored Navarre’s buffer.
Despite Parry being forced off late due to the blood rule, Lockhart, Currie and Dyer ensured the Grasshoppers managed the closing stages masterfully.
The final siren sparked an outpouring of emotion from players and spectators alike as Navarre ended a horrific 48 hours with a premiership.
At the end of a poignant post-match presentation, Dyer and Parry accepted Zanayia’s deserved premiership medal on her behalf.
Grasshoppers captain Lockhart was named best on court after scoring a game-high 35 goals alongside Parry, who netted 23.
Nalder matched Lockhart’s stellar production for the Redbacks with 34 goals, well supported by player-coach Macilwain, who finished with 18 goals at an 86 percent conversion rate.
The Coaches' Say
Saturday’s premiership triumph culminated an astonishing two-year turn-around for the Grasshoppers, a quickfire ascent back to the MCDFNL A grade summit orchestrated by player-coach Sidney Dyer.
It’s a moment Dyer has been aspiring to since Navarre went 4-12 in her first season at the Grasshoppers in 2024.
After taking over coaching duties the following season, Dyer sparked a Grasshoppers resurgence, helping the club back to the finals as fellow star midcourter Amber Perry and returning defender Jade Allen marshalled the league’s third-best defence.
However, with their offence unable to match the defence’s rapid improvement, Navarre still seemed levels below the league’s perennial contenders.
That all changed in 2026, aided by the arrival of transformative attackers Aliza Lockhart, Zanaiya Bergen and Brooke Currie and the return of Jess Parry, Dyer’s squad quickly emerged as title threats, finishing the regular season in second with a 14-2 record.
A nail-biting qualifying final defeat to Natte Bealiba seemed to damage their championship challenge severely, but the Grasshoppers rallied to produce a historic finals run, dismantling Dunolly and ending Avoca’s four-peat pursuit before Saturday’s extraordinary Grand Final victory over Carisbrook.
Dyer’s impact hasn’t just been felt at A grade level, as Navarre overcame powerhouse Natte Bealiba to win the C grade title two years after finishing outside the finals.
Yet, for all the times Dyer dreamed of restoring Navarre’s incredible netball success, she could’ve never imagined it would occur under such tragic circum-stances.
Despite travelling to Princes Park still mourning the loss of their adored teammate Zanaiya, the Grasshoppers showed incredible fortitude and camaraderie to not only play, but produce a Grand Final winning performance.
“If it didn’t mean something before, it really meant something now,” Dyer said.
“I don’t think any club has ever had to do what we’ve had to do today. I’m just so, so proud of my girls for showing up, for even getting out of bed and being here.
“We were not going home without winning and doing it for Zee.
“She’s a beautiful, bubbly woman.
“She wasn’t just your average post shooter. She had it all and her family, we are really thinking of them at the moment.”
Navarre looked destined to create a significant lead on numerous occasions, but the Redbacks answered back until fourth quarter interceptions from Perry and best on court Aliza Lockhart gave the Grasshoppers a late lead they never relinquished.
Dyer praised the playing group for containing their emotions throughout Saturday’s tense Grand Final.
“Carisbrook definitely showed up today. I love a good game, I love a bit of competition, that’s what you want a Grand Final to be. You want it to be exciting, you want the crowd to see it and enjoy it,” she said.
“A big one today was breathing, working through our emotions. It’s okay to cry and get upset, but we had to dig deep (and) we’ve got to push through these things.”
Dyer said her team couldn’t have done it alone, thanking the outstanding support they received as they have navigated an incredibly difficult time.
“I just feel so loved by our community, our supporters, my team, my team managers and everything,” she said.
“I couldn’t have done it without the sea of green and gold that we had.
“There was one point there where I sort of come up to the centre and just when I jogged back I looked up and I was like, this is for us and Zee.
“The support and the messages that we’ve been receiving from other clubs, it’s crazy how a little game of netball can be such a big thing.”
BEST ON COURT
Aliza Lockhart capped off an incredible inaugural season at Navarre with a best on court performance in the Grasshoppers’ 58-51 Grand Final victory over Carisbrook.
Right from the opening whistle, Lockhart showcased the game-changing abilities that recently earned her MCDFNL Team of the Year and Maryborough Advertiser Player of the Year honours.
The steely goal attack quickly established herself as the spearhead of the Grasshoppers offence, netting her team’s first seven goals as she routinely created space with her off-ball movement that midcourters Sidney Dyer and Brooke Currie exploited with precise passing.
Even against Carisbrook’s hard-working defensive trio of Finley Wagstaff, Elise Mottram and Jade Richardson, Lockhart preserved her typically stellar accuracy, scoring a game-high 35 goals with an 87.5 percent conversion rate.
Lockhart’s impact wasn’t just felt under the ring, routinely supplying sensational feeds to fellow shooter Jess Parry and making the extra effort to push up and provide defensive assistance in the midcourt, resulting in a game-sealing interception.
Navarre player-coach Dyer was extremely complimentary of Lockhart’s performance, calling her the ideal goal attack.
“She’s accurate, she’s fast, she just knows how to stay composed, she directs ... and when there is a turnover, she hustles and she tries to get those intercepts,” she said.
“As a captain, she stands up and she leads our team really, really well.”
Adding a best on court medal to her growing netball resume should’ve been a rapturous moment for Lockhart. Yet following the sudden passing of teammate Zanaiya Bergen, Lockhart was understandably racked with mixed emotions.
“It was the hardest 48 hours a team could have. It’s not something anyone thinks that they’ll have to go through and our team did it for Zee today,” Lockhart said.
“At times it didn’t look like it was going our way, but we came back, we fought. We knew she was watching over us.
“Zanaya was bubbly, kind, I never saw her say a bad word about anybody on the court.
“She was level-headed, she tried her best, she wanted to be out there, she wanted to play netball. I can’t really ask for a better teammate, to be honest.”
While recognised for her individual excellence, Lockhart said Saturday was a complete team performance fuelled by supporting one another.
“Getting around each other was the most important thing, I think. Even when someone makes a mistake or an umpiring decision didn’t go our way, it could’ve turned the game around, but we wrapped our arms around each other,” she said.
“We discussed at three-quarter time how much Zee would’ve wanted this. She was at training on Thursday night, she wanted to win this premiership, she wanted to be there just as much as any of us girls did.
“Final siren I just thought, we did it, it’s over, not that it’s over for anybody, but there’s a happy ending in a horrible 48 hours.”