WA Football Commission

Swan defeat Sharks for Grand Final BerthTuesday, August 15, 2017 - 9:52 AM

Written by Sandra Argese, Photos by Thomas Campbell

Fighting off a late East Fremantle surge with a historic 11 point victory, the final chapter to Swan Districts’ 2017 fairy tale season is almost complete.

Suffering heartbreak at the hands of the Coastal Titans’ 5 point win in the nail-biter of a semi-final, the Swans were looking to redeem themselves against the in-form Sharks.

Responding against their opponents with class, poise and a fierce ability to win the contested football across four gritty quarters, the Swans have now locked themselves in for the biggest stage at this year’s league grand final. But not all was smooth sailing.

Even as the rain held off, both teams battled through the wet, muddy and slippery conditions that plagued Steel Blue oval on Sunday afternoon. 

The Swans kicked off proceedings in style on their home turf with the opening two goals of the match. Though dominating the inside 50 count and maintaining possession for much of the first quarter, the Swans couldn’t quite add as much scoreboard pressure as they would’ve liked, despite finishing the opening term with a handy 8 point lead.  

The Sharks’ defensive unit were consistent all day and didn’t make any Swan score an easy one, helping to leave the door wide open for a potential comeback.

Sharon Wong was a worthy contributor for the Sharks in the midfield, while Kellie-Maree Gibson was handy up forward for the Swans and finished with two goals to her name.

As the windy conditions kicked further into gear for the third quarter, East Fremantle flipped the game on its head, winning the quarter by a single goal while succeeding in holding their opponents scoreless.  

Tense proceedings skyrocketed as Tara Avery gave the Swans grief with a contested mark and goal that lessened the margin back to just 5 points early into the fourth quarter.

With just minutes to go, Kellie Maree-Gibson responded and saved the day for the Swans with a quick soccer goal to close the potential of a come-from-behind Shark victory.

The Swans will now meet the Coastal Titans in the upcoming grand final on Sunday afternoon and will be looking to make history with their fourth premiership in five seasons.

GOALKICKERS

SWAN DISTRICTS: Kellie-Maree Gibson (2), Stephanie Cain, Ashley Sharp, Chloe Piparo.
EAST FREMANTLE: Tara Avery, Ashlee Atkins, Samara Pluschke.

QUARTER BY QUARTER
SWAN DISTRICTS: 2.2 (14) 4.2 (26) 4.2 (26) 5.2 (32) 
EAST FREMANTLE: 1.0 (6) 1.0 (6) 2.3 (15) 3.3 (21)

Reserves Preliminary Final: Coastal Titans versus East Fremantle

Completely dominating at all ends of the ground, East Fremantle have booked themselves a date with Swan Districts at this years reserves grand final. From the get go, East Fremantle burst out of the starting gates and not once did they look back - kicking all of the games' five goals while holding their opponents scoreless on the other end of the ground. 

QUARTER BY QUARTER
COASTAL TITANS: 0.0 (0) 0.1 (1) 0.1 (1) 0.4 (4) 
EAST FREMANTLE: 1.2 (8) 3.3 (21) 4.3 (27) 5.5 (35)

Rogers Cup Preliminary Final: South Fremantle versus Peel Thunderbirds

In a serious display of forward brilliance, South Fremantle’s Ella Smith  showcased the goal-scoring goods with four majors to her name to help her side to a 5.5 (35) to 2.2 (14) win over a brave Peel Thunderbirds outfit. Despite an even first quarter, South Fremantle broke away after the first break and managed to restrict their opponents to a single behind.

GOALKICKERS
SOUTH FREMANTLE: Ella Smith (4), Shakira Pickett. 
PEEL THUNDERBIRDS: Sarah Verrier, Ava Muir. 

QUARTER BY QUARTER
SOUTH FREMANTLE: 2.1 (13) 4.4 (28) 5.4 (34) 5.5 (35) 
PEEL THUNDERBIRDS: 2.1 (13) 2.1 (13) 2.1 (13) 2.2 (14)