As the sun shone down in perfect conditions for football, it was the minor premiers Curtin Uni Wesley up against second placed Warnbro Swans in the A Grade Grand Final at Wyong Reserve in Bentley.
Grand final nerves were evident in the early stages of the first quarter but after multiple inside fifties for the Swans the first goal of the afternoon came from the boot of Hayley Beaumont. While Warnbro had majority of the play in their half, Curtin Uni Wesley were able to capitalise on their opportunity going forward finishing just one point behind at the first break.
The second quarter saw the Tigers kick two goals to one after a dominant quarter in the ruck from Jennifer Sadler as well as midfielder Liusaidh Gilchrist who racked up multiple disposals to set up her best on ground performance as Amy Borrill also combined to win the clearances while kicking a goal.
Down by two goals at the main break Warnbro needed a fast start in the third and they did just that with two goals off the boot of Tara Avery who kicked it checkside to record her second – scores were level.
Swans players Kerrilee Brown worked hard all day along the wing as Deborah Ward was also solid in defence but at the final siren it was Curtin Uni Wesley in front as they claimed back to back A Grade premierships. Warnbro Swans on the other hand had their second grand final loss in as many years with the heartbreak clear on the players faces after the match. Swans coach Jan Crawford said, “I couldn’t be much prouder, if at the start of the year you had said that we would make the grand final first year up I would have said you had rocks in your head, but you made the grand final, we gave our all today”.
Winning coach Martin Edmunds summed it up by saying, “To our girls, we got there in the end, super proud of our playing group and really proud to be up here today as your premiership coach, enjoy this one, you worked so hard for it”.
Earlier in the day Piara Waters claimed back to back premierships for their club with a 13-point win over Quinn’s District and in the C3 final underdogs West Coast kicked two goals late in the contest to defeat the undefeated Hills Rangers.
Over at Gosnells Oval Swan Athletic kicked a goal after the siren to secure a win over Willetton and Kingsley continued their winning ways with a dominant 31-point win over Kenwick.
While five teams were crowned premiers on Saturday the real winner was Women’s football. As the competition continues to grow each year, it is evident that female football is thriving at a community level.
A Grade
Curtin Uni Wesley 1.1 3.2 3.3 4.5 (29)
Warnbro Swans 1.2 1.2 3.2 3.2 (20)
Goals
CUW: C Fage, C Edwards, A Borrill, L Gilchrist
WS: T Avery 2, H Beaumont
Best on Ground: Liusaidh Gilchrist (Curtin Uni Wesley)
B Grade
Piara Waters 4.4 (28)
Quinns Districts 2.3 (15)
BOG: Stephanie Mostert (Piara Waters)
C1
Kingsley 5.8 (38)
Kenwick 1.1 (7)
BOG: Tenille Reidy-Croft (Kingsley)
C2
Swan Athletic 4.3 (27)
Willetton 3.3 (21)
BOG: Taylor Pescud (Swan Athletic)
C3
West Coast 2.3 (15)
Hills Rangers 1.2 (8)
BOG: Kayla Augustynek (Hills Rangers)