Almanac Footy: Western District Football Wrap – Finals time

 

Hampden FNL – Qualifying Final and Elimination Final

 

After 18 home and away rounds there were five teams in the running for the 2025 Hampden FNL Senior premiership. With top team, North Warrnambool, having the weekend off, Saturday’s qualifying final saw second placed South Warrnambool take on third placed Koroit. These two teams have won the last nine senior premierships between them, allowing for there being no premiers in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid. Unfortunately for top team, North Warrnambool, they have been runners up five times in those nine Grand Finals.

 

As I’ve said in recent weeks, Koroit seem to be running into form at the right time of the season, and they’ve had players returning to boost their ranks. That showed through on Saturday with a 22 point win at Mortlake over South Warrnambool, the premiers of the last two seasons, 12-5-77 to 8-7-55. One player for Koroit in the minority having played every game this season is Connor Byrne, and to cap it off he has kicked at least one goal in every game this season. He led the charge on Saturday kicking four goals and being named in the team’s best players, with Jyron Neave and Jack Block being named best. For South Warrnambool, Jack Dye and captain Shannon Beks kicked three goals each and Beks and Max Irving were named best players.

 

On Sunday Warrnambool proved too strong for Portland in muddy conditions at Koroit and ran out 49 point winners, 12-6-78 to 4-5-29. Goals were spread for the winners with young Finn Radley and joint captain Jackson Bell named best players. Tanner Lovell and Jay Moody were named best players for Portland. This loss brought to an end Portland’s season at senior level but one in which they showed significant improvement after not winning a game in 2024. The return of a number of home grown players, particularly from the Geelong region, certainly helped their cause on field.

 

North Warrnambool now take on Koroit this Saturday in the Second Semi Final at Portland, and South Warrnambool take on Warrnambool in the First Semi Final at Camperdown on Sunday.

 

 

South West District FNL – Grand Final

 

Cavendish turned the tables on Dartmoor to take out the 2025 SWDFNL Senior Grand Final at Melville Oval in Hamilton on Saturday, 9-6-60 to 6-11-47.  Dartmoor, having defeated Cavendish in the last home and away round and then in the second semi-final, kicked with a 2-3 goal breeze in the first quarter and could only manage five behinds to Cavendish’s 2 behinds. Cavendish then kicked five goals two behinds in the second quarter while holding Dartmoor scoreless and that set the match up for them. Dartmoor never threw in the towel but at the same time Cavendish seemed to always be doing enough to hold them off and even though things got very interesting in more ways than one during the last quarter Cavendish always seemed to have the game in control. (Some video from the game can be seen on the Facebook page – ‘Former Footy Grounds – Andy Munro’. Andy’s is a page I have mentioned previously and worth following for footy fans.)

 

Lee Coghlan, Jake Hardy and Luke Purcell each kicked two goals for the premiers whilst the best players named by the Club were young Harry Austin (who is completing year 12 at boarding school in Melbourne), veteran Luke Purcell, who announced his retirement post-match and coach, Sam Gibson. Purcell won the VCFL Best on Ground Medal and whilst those three players were the best for the premiers, the game of their coach Sam Gibson could not be discounted. After playing forward and kicking eight goals in their last premiership in 2022 he was terrific on ball and across half back in this game, despite having to leave the ground on two occasions under the blood rule.

 

Dartmoor were best served by ruckman, Cody Benson, who also kicked two goals, and young Sebastian Harvey. Losing their leading goal kicker, Christian Howlett, for two weeks at the tribunal as a result of an investigation stemming from a striking/high tackle charge/incident between these two teams in the second semi final obviously didn’t help their chances, but take nothing away from Cavendish, they were too good on the day winning their second premiership in four years.

 

 

Mininera & District FNL – Preliminary Final

 

In a clash of neighbours, the second placed Ararat Eagles defeated fifth placed Tatyoon by one point in a thrilling Preliminary Final at Mininera, 10-15-75 to 11-8-74. Andrew Cameron and Jack Wilson each kicked three goals for the Eagles and Jesse Bennett and Nicholas Dunford were named best players. Joshua Lee kicked four goals for Tatyoon, to cap off a solid finals series for him after his six goals the week before against Penshurst, while backman James Shanhun and captain Josh Bibby were named best players.

 

This Saturday’s Grand Final will be a replay of the second semi-final with top team Lismore-Derrinallum taking on Ararat Eagles. Lismore-Derrinallum were far too good in the second semi-final running out winners by 86 points, however these two teams only played once during the home and away season and that saw a 10 point win to the Eagles back on 28 June.

 

The Grand Final will be played at Mortlake and will be fully live streamed via the Mininera & District FL Facebook page from 2pm on Saturday. The Under 16.5 and Reserves games will also be live streamed earlier in the day but without commentary.

 

The league Best and Fairest was held on Monday night this week and was won for the second year running by Penshurst key forward, Josh Rentsch, polling 27 votes from his 13 home and away games played. A few days short of his 22^nd birthday Rentsch kicked 53 goals in the home and away season. Runner up was Austin Humphrey from Lismore-Derrinallum with 23 votes. Humphrey’s team mates, Henry Walsh and Lachie Constable polled 22 votes and 19 votes respectively to also figure prominently. Ben Robertson from the Ararat Eagles polled 19 votes to round out the top five vote getters.

 

The best Senior player Under 21 went to Angus Frost from Glenthompson Dunkeld.

 

Lismore Derrinallum’s Lachie Constable was the league leading goal kicker with 102 goals in the home and away season (16 rounds).

 

 

 

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