SWNFL 2022: Eaton and South Bunbury to battle for grand final spot

A second chance to make another SWNFL grand final appearance is on the line for the Eaton Boomers while the South Bunbury Tigers will be looking to pull off a huge upset.

The stage has been set for the South West Netball Football League’s preliminary final, in which Eaton and South Bunbury go head to head on Sunday for a date with Busselton in next weekend’s grand final.

The league preliminary final will headline a stacked line-up of preliminary final match-ups taking place at the Eaton Recreation Centre on Sunday.

After falling short in extra time 79-67 to Busselton during last weekend’s semi-final, Eaton, who took out the minor premiership, will be keen to bounce back stronger than ever to keep their dream of back-to-back premierships alive.

While the Boomers put on a strong performance across the board and led throughout the contest, the extra time seemed to throw Eaton for a loop as Busselton capitalised and quickly took the lead.

The Boomers are set to put forth a tough challenge for the Tigers with accurate shooters in Jessica Knight and Courtney Collard, strong defence in Kasey Joy and Michelle Wood, and quick driving by midcourters Alex & Grace MacArthur, Bianca Vallelonga and Kristy Ftizgerald.

Meanwhile, South Bunbury will be looking to continue filling the role of the surprise package after pulling off a huge 63-51 upset over Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault in last weekend’s elimination semi-final.

Despite the Lions having the early lead last weekend, the Tigers fought back from quarter time to surprise everyone and take the 12-goal win.

While it may seem like Eaton will be the odds-on favourite, South Bunbury cannot be counted out with the likes of Chloe Willsher, Amy Howard, Grace Craigie and Ella Dowsett putting on consistent performances throughout the season so far.