SWFL 2023: South Bunbury in upset victory over Donnybrook, with Harvey, Carey Park & HBL all on winners list

South Bunbury have pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the South West Football League’s women’s competition so far, holding off Donnybrook by nine points. The Tigers travelled to VC Mitchell Park on Saturday where they took on the Dons during round nine of the 2023 season. In a pretty even start to the match, both sides scrambled for the ball in a bid to get an early lead going. However, the contest seemed to resemble more of a fight for territory as neither side were able to drive the ball far up the ground. It wasn’t until the late stages of the term that any points would hit the scoreboard, with the Dons managing two behinds while South Bunbury were kept scoreless by quarter time. South Bunbury’s fight to try and score continued into the second quarter but the task was made all the more challenging in the midst of strong defence by Donnybrook. As both sides continued rushing the ball down the ground, South Bunbury’s Zoe Linton flipped the game on its head with two consecutive goals to put the Tigers in front 2.1 (13) to 0.2 (2) at half time. In the midst of plenty of back and forth between both sides during the third quarter, Lacey Holdsworth rose to the occasion for the Dons, booting their first goal of the match to narrow the margin down. As the contest once again reached a stalemate, South Bunbury held on to lead by four points at the final change. The Tigers were firing out the gate at the start of the final term with Mikaylah Dawson booting a goal to extend South Bunbury’s lead. Not looking to give up without a fight, Donnybrook continued fighting hard to stay in the contest but missed opportunities kept them to scoring behinds for the remainder of the match. When all was said and done, South Bunbury held on to claim victory 3.2 (20) to 1.5 (11), with Kaitlin Eades, Megan Bain and Dawson among the best for the Tigers. Jade McGurk, Lisa Worsfold and Lily McGurk were among the best for the Dons. Meanwhile at Glen Huon Reserve, Carey Park pulled off a convincing 6.8 (44) to 2.2 (14) win over Eaton, with Lana Bennett dominating up forward to kick four goals for the match. In the midst of a high-pressure contest, the Panthers put their foot down during the second quarter to set themselves up for the win. Elsewhere, the Harvey Bulls continued proving why they’re one of the teams to beat with a dominant 8.4 (52) to 1.0 (6) win over Dunsborough at Harvey Oval, while Harvey Brunswick Leschenault led from the start to beat the Collie Eagles 6.9 (45) to 0.1 (1).