EIGHT teams vie for premiership glory on Sunday in the Deakin University Eastern Region Women’s competition.
EFL senior women’s reporter Tash Gunawardana caught up with each coach for their final word ahead of their respective grand final.
Full match-day information here.
Premier Division – Chirnside Park v Whitehorse Suns
The final word:
Mick Carusi (Chirnside Park):“It’s an exciting time for the playing group all involved, the club as they have all certainly worked hard to be at this point of the year. We can only look forward to the game and to enjoy and that’s where we are at, I don’t want to over-complicate things and put too much pressure on ourselves, we have worked hard like all teams at this time of the year.”
David Griffin (Whitehorse Suns): “This has been a two-year process, (and) for our group of players it’s not necessarily about footy it’s been more culture and learning what Aussie rules can do for these females. We have a lot of girls who have never played, they have learnt the game, we have an American who hadn’t even seen a football until she came to us last year. It’s the culmination of two years of work with these groups of people, we’re happy with how we have become better. We haven’t really focussed on wins and losses as far as a measure whether we have been successful or not, it’s more about the actual aspect of the games that we have developed (including) the culture we have developed, the feeling between each other that we’ve developed but in saying that we are really happy we’re in a grand final and I guess we have to be in it to win it and can’t wait.”
LIVE STREAM | Catch a live stream of the Premier Division grand final from 12pm on EFL.org.au
Division 1 – The Basin v South Croydon
The final word:
John Hayhurst (The Basin):“Our football club have come a long way in the last two seasons, last year being our inaugural year and I think we finished seventh as we won seven games. We were really pleased with that output. We have won 13 games straight at the moment and the girls have been playing good football, they’ve trained really hard, dedicated and take care of each other on and off the field too. This weekend we are playing South Croydon, they beat us in Round 1 this year by three points and we beat them by 30 points in about Round 8 or 9 and then we beat them last weekend in the second semi-final by about 24 points, so it’s always been a battle between the two sides. I feel we have a number of players who have never played football before this year and they have found a love for football, a love for the camaraderie, which football brings. Pretty close-knit bunch, they all play their role on the Saturday or Sunday when we play, and I am very pleased with how they have taken on board what I have put on them in the last two years but particularly in this season gone. If they all play their roles, we might be successful and that’s how I see it.”
Tracey Lackman (South Croydon): “There’s a lot excitement and nerves going into our first grand final, that’s for sure. But we will look to play our best game and give it everything we’ve got. That’s all we can ask for. It’s up to the girls to get the job done and go one better. The Basin have been a good side all year and will no doubt bring some competition for us.”
North Division – North Ringwood v Park Orchards
The final word:
Joel Stephens (North Ringwood): “I’m really looking forward to the grand final and all the girls are excited and having the week off has really helped us freshen the legs and we have prepared really well. We have a few players back, which is really going to help us bolster our side so they will give us more options especially through the midfield. We trained on Saturday too, so we have been working on a few things that will help us in the finals. Most of the girls first time playing football, so they are all pretty nervous and looking forward to the occasion.”
Darcy Price (Park Orchards): “Very excited, to be the first year of our women’s team and to make the grand final is pretty exciting for the whole club. All four of our teams are in finals. We are playing North Ringwood, a side we have played four times this season so both sides know each other pretty well and it’s going to be a pretty tough game by the previous results. We are expecting a close result and a hard-fought game. We have had a really positive season, we have a really strong team culture and hoping for the best result on the weekend, but our development has been our success so far this year and we are just looking forward to representing the club really well.”
South Division – Rowville Hawks v SBL Wolves
The final word:
Sean Alston (Rowville Hawks): “All the girls are very excited, and we feel ready and we’ve prepared, and they are really looking forward to the challenge and we feel like our best football is good enough to win the premiership. We are just going to keep doing the things that we have done all season that have helped got us this far and stick to what’s been working for us and to just bring our A-game.”
Simon Mehegan (SBL Wolves): “To say we are going in overly confident wouldn’t be the case it’s more a matter of the best team on the day is going to win it. After two games we were on the bottom of the ladder, the only team without a win and at the same time Rowville were on top of the ladder with two wins and to then be able to come into a grand final, we have gradually worked our way up the ladder all year. At some points throughout the year I felt we weren’t respected as enough for the girls and how they were going about things and we were just about having fun, but after the two losses the girls said we actually want to win too. We have lots of mums in the team who are coming into the game who are just going to enjoy the day. We are not going into the game worried about Rowville. We respect Rowville, but I think we have got to win the game so it’s going to be a matter of giving it our best shot and see what happens. With two wins throughout the season against each other, its going to be probably the best team on the day.”
