The Women's Premier Division crown will remain at North Dalton Park after the Lions held off a brave Figtree to secure the premiership on Saturday.
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In a thrilling affair, a two-goal burst in the first term set Wollongong on the path for their second successive grand-final victory over the Saints, prevailing by 3.4 (22) to 2.3 (15) at North Dalton Park.
Charlee McPherson was named player of the match while her teammate Shanae Flower bobbed up with two crucial goals. The win caps an unbeaten season for the Lions.
"I'm so excited, I'm so privileged to have such an awesome team around me," Lions skipper Lauren Myers told the Mercury post-match.
"We played our best game and we came out on top. It was an awesome contest, probably one of the best one that we've had all year so big ups to Figgy, but even more to our girls."
It was a tough slog to open Saturday's affair, with the first point coming around the five-minute mark to the Lions.
Wollongong then started to assert their authority. A scrambled kick inside 50 found Lola Sossai, who went back and kicked truly. Minutes later, Flower then got out the back and nailed the goal.
The Lions held a 14-point advantage at the first break.
Neither teams grabbed the ascendancy early in the second term and it took close to nine minutes for the first goal to come, with a lucky bounce falling in Figtree forward Amelia Martin's hands and she made no mistake.
It kick-started a period of the Saints locking the ball inside their forward 50, and they were rewarded when Ashlee Maddern was awarded a free kick. Maddern split the goal posts as Figgy cut the deficit to 2.2 (14) to 2.0 (12) at halftime.
After weathering the storm early in the third quarter, the Lions were then able to trap the ball inside 50, leading to Sossai setting Flower for her second major.
Wollongong continued to pile on the pressure for the rest of the term, but the Saints defence held on. The Lions took a 3.4 (22) to 2.1 (13) lead heading into the final break.
It was end-to-end footy to start the fourth quarter, with neither side looking to give each other any edge. The game was on a knife's edge for most of the term, as the Lions couldn't deliver the killer blow and Figtree couldn't make scoring in-roads.
The Lions were able to hold on for a seven-point victory.
"The Lions played well and our girls stepped up as a team, so I couldn't be more proud. They worked really hard and it could have gone either way today," Saints player Lily Macdonald said.
"Credit to all of our girls, we played with a lot of spirit and we never let the Lions get two goals ahead."
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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.
