SWFL women’s: Busselton maintain second spot with 12-point win over Donnybrook, Dunsborough shut out Collie

Busselton held on to second spot on the South West Football League women’s ladder by beating Donnybrook by 12 points at Boyanup Oval on Saturday. Under big pressure from the chasing pack of third-placed Bunbury and fourth-placed South Bunbury, who both came into the weekend having not lost since June, the Magpies maintained their one-win buffer with a 3.4 (22) to 1.4 (10) defeat of the Dons. Busselton’s big guns came to play in the critical clash, with Katie-Jayne Grieve slotting a goal in another best-afield display, and WAFLW star Beth Beckett providing good support. The Dons threatened to close in the final term with their first goal of the day from spearhead Courtney Zappara but could not track down the visitors, meaning their finals hopes now depend on a Dunsborough loss in the final round of the season next weekend. On Sunday at Dunsborough Playing Fields, the Sharks ensured they would come into round 20 in possession of fifth spot with a 66-point win over Collie. In something of a throwback to the early games of the season when their defence was near-impenetrable, the hosts completely shut out the visitors in a 10.6 (66) to 0.0 (0) result which saw them move to eight wins. Dunsborough broke a run of three losses in four games with the victory and are now completely in charge of their own finals destiny, with a win at the weekend, regardless of margin, enough to see them through. Saturday’s other fixture saw Carey Park recorded their third win of the season with a thrilling four-point win over Eaton at Glen Huon Reserve. Trailing by 15 points at the final break, the hosts came up with their first two goals of the day through Demi Ashley and Whitney Baker, but the visitors held on for a 2.5 (17) to 2.1 (13) victory. The win sees the Panthers maintain eighth spot on the ladder, while the Boomers remain in ninth.