South West’s championships effort makes region proud

The thrill of representing the South West Football League at the Nutrien Ag Solutions country football championships was not lost on the colts and women’s teams. Before the start of the women’s championships at Arena Joondalup on Thursday, many expected the SWFL women’s team to go about their business in a no-nonsense fashion. And they did. Within the opening 10 minutes of their opening match against Peel, the SWFL were up by 20 points. Peel’s pain was compounded further by the fact the SWFL’s best player was Karyn Beeson, a decorated premiership player with South Bunbury, who had not played club football for 12 months. Although the crowd was sparse on day one, all women’s teams gave a great account of themselves, with sporting behaviour on display.— the highlight being Pilbara, who enthusiastically formed a guard of honour for Great Southern’s match against the SWFL. The SWFL won both of their matches convincingly to lead the women’s competition, while the colts were fourth with a 1-1 record. But what a difference a day makes. A low pressure system parked itself over Claremont Oval in the early hours of Friday morning, turning the ground into a lake. Spectators ducked for cover in the members’ stand as the biting rain lashed their faces, while the nearby Mary Street bakery was relieved of its wide selection of pies and sausage rolls. Needing to win both of their remaining games and rely on other results to qualify for the grand final, the SWFL colts started the day with a convincing 5.10 (40) to 0.3 (3) win over Avon. The bit of luck Brett Maguire’s side needed came following the victory, with Pilbara pipping previously undefeated Great Southern 2.2 (14) to 1.7 (13). Pilbara’s ability to handle the wet conditions proved priceless, much to the delight of their small contingent of supporters. The SWFL qualified for the grand final after holding off a surging Regional Districts 4.2 (26) to 3.7 (25) in the dying seconds. News began to filter through from Joondalup about the women’s team’s dominance in their grand final against Great Southern, as the colts team took to the field against Peel under patchy cloud. Unfortunately for Maguire’s men, they could not emulate the feats of the women’s team in their decider, however their effort to come from fourth place on the final day was impressive. The twists and turns in both competitions made all games compelling to watch and showcased the high standard of football in regional WA.