Following a highly competitive 14 rounds which saw the championship come down to the wire last weekend, the MWFA Premier League women’s wraps up with what is sure to be a top-quality grand final at Cromer Park.
Here is a rundown of all the action that will unfold around the grounds this Sunday.
Premier League Grand Final: Manly Vale (1st) vs Mosman (2nd) – 4pm, Cromer 1
Mosman will be eager to bounce back from final day heartbreak last weekend when they take on back-to-back champions Manly Vale at Cromer Park.
Last weekend, James Spyrakis’ side fell one step short of an invincible season with a 3-0 defeat to Manly Allambie that also saw them lose out on the title on goal difference to Sunday’s opponents.
Nevertheless, the Mosman coach cannot fault his side’s effort for the duration of the campaign.
“Maybe our energy levels have just dropped a little bit towards the end of the season but it definitely hasn’t been from lack of trying,” he said.
“I couldn’t be prouder. One of the hardest parts of being a coach is getting the girls to play as a team and have that camaraderie on and off the field- the girls showed that from day one.
“Obviously we were a bit unlucky in the end and it was disappointing, you to not to come away with some results towards the end of the season, but I’m extremely happy and proud as a coach.”
The Whales will be fuelled this weekend by the fact that they have already defeated Vale on two separate occasions this year.
They also feel the Cromer Park surface will aid their style of football.
“It’s almost a bit frustrating the fact that we beat them (Manly Vale) twice and it comes down to goal difference,” Spyrakis said.
“This weekend is definitely a chance to make amends.
“It does mean a little bit more and the girls are definitely going to fight their very hardest to try and gain what they deserve.
“After the season they’ve put in they deserve a bit of silverware, so we’ll definitely be fighting hard and gunning for that win this weekend.”
In the other technical area, Roland Winter and Tony Bruzzano will be eager to achieve a different outcome to their last grand final appearance in 2018, which resulted in penalty shootout heartbreak.
Winter admits that Mosman will be a tough team to beat.
“We know they’ve beaten us both times at David Thomas and they have good structure to how they play,” he said.
“They’re quite disciplined, they have a very good goalkeeper, some handy players and are coached quite well.
“We’re happy to play them again to try and turn the tables but we know it won’t be easy.
“It’ll be very difficult match especially on Cromer 1, such a large field, but we’re looking forward to it, that’s for sure.”
3rd vs 4th: Seaforth vs Manly Allambie – 3pm, Seaforth Oval
Seaforth began to hit their strides in the second half of the season to finish within three points of the top two.
This week they come up against last year’s grand finalists Manly Allambie, who struggled for consistency in 2020.
Both sides played out a 0-0 draw in round 2 before Seaforth triumphed 1-0 at Millers in round 9.
5th vs 6th: Wakehurst vs Pittwater – 3pm, Lionel Watts
Wakehurst are set to take on Pittwater for the second time in a week after both teams played out a 2-2 draw last Sunday.
In their other encounter the Tigers enjoyed a 2-1 win at Kitchener back in
round 7.
7th vs 8th: Brookvale vs Beacon Hill – 3pm, Grahams
Not many could have predicted Vince Vescio’s Beacon Hill side to be in a battle for the wooden spoon but that is exactly what unfolded in 2020 as his experienced squad were ravaged by injuries.
The defending grand final champions take on Michael Cimino’s young Brookvale side who have enjoyed a season of development.
Brookvale came away with a tight win at Beacon Hill Oval in round 2, before the sides played out a 2-2 stalemate at Grahams in round 9.
Premier League Reserve Grade Grand Final: Seaforth vs Manly Vale – 1pm, Seaforth Oval
Manly Vale’s reserve grade outfit finished with an identical points tally of 26 to their first grade teammates, however they were trumped on goal-difference by Seaforth.
Everything is on the line again this weekend when the two competition frontrunners battle it out at Seaforth Oval.
On the two occasions they met in 2020 both sides emerged with a share of the spoils, 1-1 in round 6 and 0-0 in round 13.
WAL/1 Grand Final: Belrose-Terry Hills vs Curl Curl – Melwood, 3pm
Belrose-Terry Hills and Curl Curl both enjoyed dominant campaigns in the women’s AL/1 division.
The Raiders scored an incredible 49 goals and only conceded 9 over the course of the season.
They have only met Curl Curl once this season, coming away with a 2-1 win at Terry Hills oval back in round 8.
