Country football championships 2023: Some positives, however SWFL ultimately let division one title slip

Within seconds of the SWFL recording its opening round-robin win over Avon on Friday in Joondalup, a voice could be heard from a nearby dugout. “Don’t worry about it boys, we’ll be seeing them again on Sunday and it’ll be different,” an Avon player said to his despondent teammates. Fast forward two days later, and this prediction — whether jokingly or unflinchingly optimistic — ultimately came true, with Avon turning the tables 6.7 (43) to 4.7 (31) over the SWFL in the Nutrien Ag Solutions Country Football Championships division one grand final at Fremantle Oval. Day 1 (Friday, July 7 at HBF Arena Joondalup) The SWFL’s hopes of retaining its division one title hit a snag late on the opening day. After defeating Avon Football Association 7.1 (43) to 3.5 (23) in their opening game, Chris Kinninmont’s side was defeated by Upper Great Southern 4.2 (26) to 1.1 (7) later in the afternoon. In order to remain in contention for a spot in Sunday’s grand final at Fremantle Oval, the South West outfit needed to not only beat Peel and Ongerup on Saturday, but also rely on other results and percentage to help them. Despite their impressive victory against Avon, the SWFL struggled with ball use and defensive accountability at times against Upper Great Southern — with goalsneak Laurence Collard, Ryan Bennell and Haiden Schloithe all finding plenty of the footy against the reigning champions. Jon Meadmore, Paul Rinder and Shaun Crane were best for the SWFL in the 19-point defeat. The SWFL received a massive boost by the end of the day, with Peel booting five unanswered goals against Upper Great Southern to pinch a gripping 6.1 (37) to 6.0 (36) victory. Day 2 (Saturday, July 8 at Mineral Resources Park) Heading into the final day of the round-robin competition at 8.45am, Peel sat on top of the table with two wins from as many matches, with Upper Great Southern close behind in second place. Four hours later, both associations incredibly were eliminated, with a raft of twists and turns leaving the Mineral Resources Park crowd in an audible and visible state of shock. Peel lost both of their matches against South West and Avon respectively, which seemingly paved the way for a South West-Upper Great Southern grand final, following the SWFL’s clinical 12.3 (75) to 0.1 (1) win over Ongerup. However Avon, who began the morning in fourth place, caused the first of their several boilovers throughout the carnival, to defeat Upper Great Southern 6.1 (37) to 5.5 (35) after leading from the outset. Despite the SWFL delight at qualifying for another grand final, a leg injury to spearhead Jarrod Humphries ruled him out of the decider. Carnival awards JJ Lusick Award – Umpire of the Championship – Cameron Valenti (SWFL).WAFL Past Players Award Rising Star – Zac Trigwell (SWFL).Jock Coleman Medal Fairest & Best of the Championship – Kaidyn Fullgrabe (Avon).SWFL All Stars: Shaun Crane (South Bunbury), Mitch Tenardi (Busselton), Tom Gorter (South Bunbury), Zac Trigwell (Donnybrook). Nutrien Ag Player of the Grand Final – Kaidyn Fullgrabe (Avon).