Jeremy Curragh was appointed change manager for the Otago union in late January when the union got into financial strife.
He helped steer the union away from a possible liquidation and then managed, along with others, to negotiate a plan with major creditors that kept the union afloat.
He admitted that, at times, the future looked bleak for the union.
"There was a period of time there where we were looking at liquidation and there may not be an Otago team on the field. But once we worked through the issues, there would always have been a team in some form," Curragh said.
"One of the key things to me is placing local talent does not affect performance; in fact, it can especially go the other way. It shows you do not have to spend up large and get players in from around the country. Sure, you may need a couple of players to be selected from outside the region, but the bulk of the guys need to be local. That seems to be the way it is going around the country.
"It is a fantastic result [to make the final]. I've followed them very closely. I think the way they have played on the field has given heart to those working hard off the field."
Curragh was originally set to work for just four weeks when he started in Dunedin but that stretched out to more than four months, such were the complexities of the Otago situation.
Eventually, a new board was appointed, along with a new union constitution, and Richard Kinley was appointed as the union's new general manager.
"The focus is now back on the game itself, not on off-field stuff.
"There is a good board in there now, good people in there, working hard ... but there is going to be some hard work ahead for the next few years."
Curragh, who is back home with his family in Mt Maunganui, said Otago now held a special place in his heart.
"When I look back on it, it was an extremely challenging time, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The fact that we now have a positive result is extremely satisfying for me. No-one wanted it to go into liquidation. People down there have been hugely supportive in all situations. With the work we did with the creditors, it could have got quite ugly."
The Otago union was facing a debt of more than $2 million but managed to came up with a rescue plan.
However, players were forced off the payroll and the union had consider local players.
Curragh said winning undoubtedly helped a lot of things.
He said he was thinking about going to the final in Pukekohe on Friday night, when Otago faces Counties-Manukau. He admitted that when Bay of Plenty played Otago, he was supporting the Bay, but he supported Otago in all other games.
He was working as a principal with WHK, in the business performance area, but was still keeping his hand in the sporting business side of things.
He had been appointed an independent director by Netball New Zealand for the Eastern Waikato region, and was advising as the organisation moved to a zone-based system.
