The celebrations for some continue on.... For the rest of us, there is always next season.
The team that won the grand final is pictured below and my wrap on the Women's Premier League Grand Finals (I saw all of them) follows. Some content sourced from Capital Football - well done Russ Gibbs, Media Liaison Officer for the very timely results updates on the CF website all season - it made a big difference.
Women's Premier League Grand Finals
Women's PL 18
Belconnen United 5 (Brittany Tully 4’, Talia Backhouse 13’, 69’, Brittany Smale 44’, 81’) Woden Valley 2 (Meg McLaughlin 7’, 88’)
Belconnen United: 1. Tahlia Gash, 2. Tegan Taylor, 3. Grace Tosic, 4. Lianna Maddaffari, 5. Samantha Lazdovkis, 6. Jess Goyne, 7. Brittany Smale, 8. Madeleine D’Ambrosio, 9. Shiann Knight-Moore, 10. Brittany Tully, 11. Natalie De Marco, 12. Talia Backhouse, 13. Rebecca Richards, 14. Sarah Murcutt, 16. Chloe Gash, 18. Lauren Keir
Woden Valley: 1. Tatiana Curic, 2. Izzy Velzen, 3. Bronte Carlin, 4. Nida Mollinson, 5. Kadee Hollis, 6. Caitlin White, 7. Sophie Velzen, 8. Thembi Compton, 9. Meg McLaughlin, 10. Brittany Palombi, 11. Courtney Allen, 12. Nia Southwell, 13. Morgan McGown, 14. Rachael Goldstein, 15. Jaline Hoek, 16. Amy McLachlan, 17. Rhianna Goldstein
Women's Premier League Reserves
Belwest Foxes 1 (Gemma Matheson 79’) Belconnen United 0
Belconnen United: 1. Jocelyn Mara, 2. Sabrynka Zawartko, 3. Bianka Jagarinec, 4. Emma Heaney, 5. Ellie Weston, 6. Caitlin Taylor (14. Kiley Green), 7. Jordan Buchanan, 8. Vanessa Cordett (12. Talia Collins), 9. Danielle Donne (15. Sabrina Spinapolice), 10. Tayla Zanotto (13. Rose Tickner), 11. Sarah Tutt
Women's Premier League
Belwest Foxes 3 (Snez Veljanovska 30’, Cian Maciejewski 45’, Hope Wilkins 73’) Woden Valley 5 (Erin Frewin 2’, Georgia Yeoman-Dale 23’, 56’, 8’ (pen), Ashleigh Palombi 29’)
Belwest Foxes: 1. Melanie Luksa, 2. Kim Crocker (4. Erika Pennyfield), 3. Cian Maciejewski, 5. Hope Wilkins, 6. Katrina Staniforth, 9. Shahreen Goodrick (16. Stephanie Trimble), 10. Snez Veljanovska, 11. Lucy Hanrahan, 13. Julia Hoy, 15. Elizabeth Pearson (14. Sam Price), 18. Hayley Buckingham
Woden Valley: 1. Gill Raymond, 4. Stephanie Coates, 5. Jen Walsh (12. Grace Field, 17. Haley Hinde), 6. Erin Frewin, 7. Sally Rojahn, 8. Isabella Boag-Taylor, 10. Ashleigh Palombi (3. Ellen Kromar), 11. Georgia Yeoman-Dale, 13. Emma Thornton, 14. Krista Hagen, 15. Catherine Brown
The NPL Grand Final wrap follows:
The Womens grand finals were played at Hawker on Sunday. Not one game disappointed with all teams playing in good style, a wonderful atmosphere at Hawker and near perfect weather. What a great day! Read on...
The PL18s went to Belconnen. It was impressive game from these young players and many were younger than 18. Woden impressed everyone with the quality their passing game and the willingness to stay with it, but Belconnen seemed to have the force with them that day and secured a good win. The PL reserves was an edge of the seat contest between Belwest and Belconnen, with Belwest looking the stronger team over the whole game, scoring the winner late in the second half. The strength of the Womens Pl game was emphasised in the Reserves game, as both teams treated the crowd to a really good game of football.
Then it was on to the PL Womens blockbuster between Woden Valley and Belwest. The NPL has interviewed the coaches of these two teams on several occasions this season and you could only be impressed by both coaches. They play a different style, both successful and coach teams who have displayed discipline and purpose over a long season. These two teams and coaches know a lot about each other. The season started with Belwest hammering Woden in the Fed Cup final. It looked a long season that day for Woden. They played each other three times following that game in the competition proper, and each time the margin got smaller between the teams, till Woden snatched a victory in the last of their clashes. This set the stage for the Grand Final. It was game that lived up to expectations in every respect. Woden Valley went out to a flying start, a bit like Belwest had done to them in the Fed Cup all those months ago. 3:1 at half time was a score that left no one at Woden comfortable, because the Belwest machine had started to gather some real momentum. Half time may have come at just the wrong time for Belwest. Both Coaches looked like they were dying on the inside! The players looked cool! Woden may have had the lead, but Belwest were alaways threatening to overhaul Woden. So much good football talent on display and they were all going for it. It is impossible to catalogue the ebb and flow of the second half, we all felt the game hung by a thread at times, they matched each other for goals, the gap closed and finally Woden broke free. The standard of play was just sensational. This game promised so much and delivered on everything. As they say, pity there has to be a winner. But it is worth remembering that while Woden Valley now holds it’s first Womens PL GF trophy, Belwest hold the premiership. Can’t say fairer than that.
Womens PL football is the best.