SWFL women’s: Busselton claim second spot in grand final with 26-point preliminary final win over Harvey Bulls

Busselton claimed the second spot in the South West Football League women’s grand final on Sunday with a 26-point preliminary final upset win over Harvey Bulls at Hands Oval. A magnificent defensive performance in which the Magpies did not concede a goal saw them secure a 5.3 (33) to 0.7 (7) victory, ensuring the season decider will be a rematch of last year’s contest between them and reigning premiers Bunbury. The victory earned Busselton a chance to atone for an upset loss in last year’s grand final after a near-invincible campaign where they lost only two games for the season. Meanwhile, the defeat has seen the Bulls — who finished the home and away season as minor premiers having won 15 of their 16 contests — tumble out of the finals with two losses in a row. Katie-Jayne Grieve, the favourite for the Nola Marino Medal, was again prolific in the middle for the Magpies, while Mia van Kleef (two goals), Rennie Meadmore and Havana Milner (one each) had the class to capitalise on their chances in attack. Harvey largely dominated field position in the contest but could not convert their ascendancy around the ground into scoreboard impact, despite the best efforts of Trinity Brown and Larissa Versaci. Coming in as the underdogs, the Magpies made the early running, with Sienna Thompson soccering through the opening goal inside the first five minutes before Grieve broke clear of a contest and teed up Milner for their second. The Bulls grew into the contest in the latter stages of the first term, having the ball hemmed inside their attacking 50 for the final five minutes, but had could not come up with a score of their own. The start of the second term followed a similar theme to the end of the first, with Caitlin Shales misfiring a pair of attempts on goal as Harvey continued to search for their first of the day. Brown tried to lift her side late in the quarter with a huge passage of play, laying a big tackle on Beth Beckett and driving the Bulls deep inside 50 after winning the preceding clearance, but the Magpies’ defence continued to hold firm in the face of the pressure. As the Magpies continued to defend grimly in the third term, it was a brilliant effort from Milner which set up their all-important third goal, slingshotting her side forward with a brilliant four-bounce run and teeing up van Kleef, who made no mistake with her set shot. Meadmore followed up with a brilliant moment of her own, evading multiple opponents and snapping a brilliant goal despite some late pressure, before van Kleef quickly added her second of the term to all but seal the result. The Bulls continued to launch constant attacking thrusts in the final term but could only close out the game with another three behinds, providing a neat encapsulation of their difficult day.