SWFL Grand Final: Carey Park and Busselton to contest 2015 premiership clash

Just two sides remain in the hunt for the 2015 South West Football League premiership and Sunday's grand final promises to be a clash of the titans. 

Busselton claimed the minor premiership after finishing on top of the ladder with a 15-3 record while Carey Park ended the season in third spot with 12 wins, five losses and one forfeit game against Donnybrook in which they received the four points.

The sides have faced off three times this season with Carey Park leading the head-to-head count 2-1, including the most recent encounter two weeks ago. 

But Busselton can never be ruled out and this match could go right down to the wire. 

BUSSELTON Football Club coach Greg Hodson is confident his side can claim the 2015 South West Football League premiership flag when they meet the Carey Park Panthers on Sunday.

“The plan was always to get ourselves to the grand final,” he said.

“Now that we are there we obviously want to win and we have a lot to play for.

“We have plenty of blokes on our list who have played a lot of football without being rewarded with a grand final win or for some, even a grand final appearance.”

“We don’t want to see them retire on a grand final loss.”

His side will take on Carey Park who dominated the Magpies two weeks ago in a semi-final.

Hodson said his side would be out for revenge.

“Two weeks ago we played poorly and the week off didn’t do it for us,” he admitted.

“We watched Carey Park struggle against Eaton in the first week of finals which caused us to underestimate them and we got our butts kicked.

“We will be a very different side this week when we meet them again.”

The coach said his side really enjoyed last Sunday’s hit out against Harvey and it bought them some confidence.

“We have ticked a lot of boxes this year, we have beaten every side and now we have our momentum up again,” Hodson said.

“You can’t buy confidence and the boys sung the song after the weekend’s win with a lot of gusto.

“They are a really tight group who would run through brick walls for each other.

“I’m sure they will do all they can to get over the line.”

Hodson was tight-lipped on whether captain Dan McGinlay would return from the knee injury that sidelined him in round 17.

“Dan would love to play but sometimes wanting to play and being able to play are two different things,” he said.

“We would love to have the captain out on the field and being the leader that he is, would help to make the rest of the boys stand up and be counted.

“Wednesday night we will give him a real workout and hopefully he will be ready.”

Hodson said regardless of his selection dilemmas, he is confident his side can prevail.

“We will try and get our matchups right and we think our best game is capable of beating their best game,” he said.

“It is going to be an excellent match, the weather is forecast to be perfect and we would love to see as many people as possible down there flying the black and white.” 

CAREY Park coach John Baggetta believes his side’s good form heading into the final has them right in the hunt for this weekend's trophy.

“It’s very hard to dominate all year round in this league, so our recent run of form has come at the right time,” he said.

“But we need to continue to bring that same amount of effort – we won’t win just because we’re in form.”

The grand final will be the Panthers’ first game in a fortnight after they earned the right to a week off with a semi-final win.

They held a training session on Sunday morning to keep players focussed.

“It’s important to get plenty of consistency and we’ve had a fairly solid week,” Baggetta said.

“The boys look fresh and they will all be pretty excited for the game.”

Carey Park claim Anzac Day clash

On Anzac Day, Carey Park got off to a hot start kicking the first two goals by capitalising on Busselton's turnovers. 

The Magpies were moving the ball swiftly through Chis Kane and Nathan Bradbury but poor decisions saw them turn the ball over. 

Busselton came out swinging as the game progressed and through Dan McGinlay they took a 10 point lead into half time. 

Carey Park used the wind in the third quarter to kick four goals to one through the boots of Aaron Hill, Kieran King and Brandon Jetta. 

High intensity from Viv Blurton and Jake Watts saw the Panthers push their advantage in the final quarter to run out 16 point winners 12.11.83 to 9.13.67. 

Busselton hit back in game two

Heading down to Sir Stewart Bovell Park on June 27, Busselton reversed their fortune to claim the four premiership points. 

The two backlines showed their dominance in the first quarter with the ball bouncing from end to end and neither side putting a goal on the scoreboard. 

Steve Cameron opened the Magpies account early in the second quarter and his teammate Sam Shepherd gave the locals a two goal lead. 

Without Matt Martin, Carey Park used Michael McMillan to stay within a goal the difference at half time. 

In the third quarter Dan McGinlay found more of the football at Busselton were able to pile on five goals to Carey Park's two with a quarter to play. 

Just when the game looked to be out of reach, Carey Park ignited with only a little time left on the clock. 

Clint Garlett, Aaron Hill and Liam Stewart all bagged goals to see the Panthers just five points behind.

Winning the ruck knock, Carey Park were streaming towards goal when the final siren rang to see Busselton victorious 9.10.64 to 8.11.59. 

Panthers thump the Pies in semi final

The Carey Park Panthers were the first side to qualify for the 2015 South West Football League grand final after a convincing 33 point win over the Busselton Magpies at Hands Oval on Sunday, September 13.

The game started out as a tight contest with the high pressure causing a number of turnovers. 

A slip-up in defence from Busselton handed Matt Martin Carey Park's first goal of the game before Cody Haub and Graham Jetta extended the lead to four goals.

Against the breeze, Busselton managed to pick up two late first-quarter goals through Steve Cameron and Ethan Bowman to trail 4.3.27 to 2.1.13 at the first change. 

Martin continued to show his dominance in the second with strong overhead marks and two more goals. 

The Magpies pain was increased when Clint Yarran was awarded a 50 metre penalty and slotted a goal from directly in front. 

He slotted another on the stroke of half time and a goalless second half from Busselton saw them trailing by 38 points at the main break. 

Busselton's Brent Snook goaled early in the third quarter to give his side something to cheer about but majors to Brandon Jetta and Michael McMillan soon had them on the back foot. 

Three more successful shots from the league-leading goal kicker Martin blew the margin right out to see the Panthers leading 14.6.90 to 4.4.28 at the final huddle. 

With the wind at their backs, Busselton came home strong but it was too little too late with many of Carey Park's best players having an extended break on the bench. 

Three fourth-quarter goals to Brent Hall were a small ray of sunshine on a dark day for the Magpies as they went down 15.7.97 to 9.10.64. 

The team from Footy HQ – WA is split 3-2 on whether Carey Park or Busselton will take the cup. 

Have your say below. 

FOOTY HQ - WA's comprehensive coverage of local football will continue this weekend as we aim to be your home ground for the 2015 South West Football League grand finals.

Live coverage of the colts, reserves and league grand finals will be live on our website from 10am on Sunday with regular updates also posted on the Footy HQ - WA Facebook page.

There will be photo galleries from each game, expert analysis, videos and of course all the winners and losers on the day.

Last year our live coverage attracted more than 60,000 pageviews on the Bunbury, Busselton, Margaret River, Collie and Donnybrook websites and we also had more than 20,000 pageviews last Tuesday night for our live coverage of the Hayward Medal count.