GSFLW 2025: Captains ready to lead from the front in historic Mt Barker and Denmark-Walpole grand final

Excitement is building ahead of the Great Southern Football League Women’s grand final showdown between Denmark-Walpole and Mt Barker, with both captains ready to lead from the front. The Magpies are chasing a maiden GSFLW premiership, having lost the 2022 grand final at home, while the Mt Barker Bulls are chasing back-to-back titles. Bulls captain Sarah Eisenberg is optimistic of a premiership win that would cap a “really good” season. “Unfortunately we didn’t quite perform when we needed to in the first final, but we got ourselves together and worked as a team, and we’ve had a really good season for it,” she said. “We lost a really good ruck last year but we have a new girl — she’s young, she’s stepped into the role and she’s just absolutely made it her own. “Everybody in this team have all added to make it what we are and who the Bulls are.” Eisenberg has enjoyed her time as captain throughout the season and is looking forward to “hitting the ground” with the team to give the Pies plenty to think about. Magpies captain Sophie Coates is similarly optimistic of a win for her team, saying her team has had an amazing season. “We’ve had a really great pre-season and really great camaraderie between the team and the girls,” she said. “We’ve had an injection of some younger girls from the Denmark agriculture school which has really bonded us together and glued us together, so we’ve had a great season so far. “Training has been awesome, we’ve been getting really good numbers — the girls have always been committed to coming to training and pushing themselves, so I’ve been really impressed with the girls this season. Coates said a highlight for the team this season is when the team has locked in to get the job done. “I think the highlights of the season have been when the girls have just locked in and gone that extra 10 per cent, and we’ve come out on top from doing that,” she said. “Just the gel of the team and the camaraderie and how we’ve endeavoured — how we’ve just persevered and kept pushing through has been really great to see with some of the younger girls stepping into that role as well.” Bouncedown for the GSFLW grand final will be at 7pm on Friday at Collingwood Park.