The Wollongong Lions have an opportunity to put the exclamation point on a perfect season when they take on Figtree in Saturday's Women's Premier Division grand final.
After claiming last year's premiership, it's been another great campaign for the Lions, who remain undefeated heading into the showdown at North Dalton Park. It will be replay of the 2022 decider, with the Lions prevailing by 20 points over the Saints on that occasion last September.
The Lions, who booked their spot in this year's decider with a six-goal thumping of the Bulldogs a fortnight ago, are full of confidence heading into this weekend's showdown.
"It would mean a lot for our girls to defend our title," Lions captain Lauren Myers told the Mercury.
"We've had a lot of new girls come to our club this year and it would mean a lot to represent our whole club by winning the premiership for them. We've gone undefeated all season so we'd like to keep that streak going. We've had great depth in our numbers, which has given us a lot of talent to pull from, which has led to us having a strong team.
"But Figtree have come into fine form at the end of the season, so we're expecting a pretty good game of football with some high skills and tough competition. Hopefully we'll get it over them, but we'll have to wait for the day."
The Saints finished their regular campaign in third position and have had to take the long road to making this year's grand final. Figgy held on for a 14-point victory over the second Lions side in week one of the finals before thumping the Bulldogs by six goals in last week's preliminary final.
Lily Macdonald, who is part of Figtree's leadership group, said her teammates were thrilled to be playing in their second successive decider.
"We feel very excited to get out on the field this weekend, especially against the Lions: they've been the benchmark all season. They have great skills that are at a professional level, so it would be great to see the girls lift our energy and match them on the field,"Macdonald said.
"Our energy that we've had coming into finals has been very positive and the girls have worked very hard this season. We've come in with a lot of girls who are new to the game and a lot that have come up from our juniors, so it would be great to take it out this year."
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
