SWFL: Donnybrook defeat Busselton by five points in women’s preliminary final to secure grand final spot

Donnybrook will feature in the South West Football League women’s grand final for the first time after emerging from a thrilling preliminary final against Busselton at Hands Oval on Sunday as five-point winners. In a contest which was not high in scoring but played at serious intensity from the first siren to the last, the Dons survived a desperate finish to the game played mostly in their defensive half, holding on for a 2.3 (15) to 1.4 (10) victory which ensured their fairytale run through the finals would reach the last day of the season. The Dons will now face down the huge challenge of stopping reigning premiers Bunbury, who have not tasted defeat in well over a year, in the season decider. A defeat which saw Busselton exit the finals in straight sets has denied them what would have been a fourth grand final appearance in a row and a clash with the Bulldogs on the last day of the season for the third year running. As they have been for the entirety of their side’s run through September, the Dons star trio of Ella Smith, Courtney Zappara and Taneika Handley were brilliant on the day. Smith — crowned as the joint winner of the Nola Marino Medal with Bunbury’s Kloe Bassett on Friday night — was particularly influential in the all-important last quarter, Zappara’s two goals proved the difference in the game and Handley was at the forefront of their dogged defensive showing. On a day where goals were at an absolute premium, Zappara was able to conjure what proved to be the winner out of nothing in the third term, smothering a Busselton defensive kick and acting fastest on the loose ball to kick her second. Late in the quarter, the game underwent a lengthy delay due to an injury to a Donnybrook player which required the intervention of paramedics. After the resumption, Magpies player-coach Beth Beckett — far and away their best performer on the day — had the only shot of goal of the final quarter after being taken in a high tackle by Handley. But after it fell short and was rushed through for a behind by the Dons in a desperate scramble, they were able to hold on, with Smith particularly influential by putting her head over the ball to win some late free kicks which ticked the clock down. Conditions were not conducive to scoring during the contest, which was played mostly in dry conditions but had strong winds blowing across the ground throughout its duration. The defences of both teams stood tall throughout the contest, consistently holding off attacking forays from the opposition by claiming intercept marks. Much of the first term was played between the attacking arcs, with the two sides feeling themselves out as some light rain came down. Kicking towards the scoring end, the Dons had the better of general play in the quarter but were not able to carve out any clear-cut attacking opportunities. The Dons had Busselton hemmed firmly in their own half in the opening stages of the second term and but still struggled give themselves any scoreboard reward as the Magpies defended resolutely. Busselton’s resistance was finally broken later in the quarter through a link-up between Smith and Zappara which saw the latter mark the former’s driving attacking kick and slam through the first goal of the game. But the Magpies were able to reply instantaneously through a moment of individual quality from Beckett, leaving the scores knotted at the main break.