SWFL Finals: The mostly useless stats and facts that may or may not shape your team’s chances of success

Ahead of this weekend’s elimination and qualifying finals, journalist Jackson Barrett has taken a look at some of the stats that may (or may not) shape your team’s chances this weekend and through the finals. Busselton A win over Collie in their final game of the home-and-away season at the weekend meant the Magpies locked away a fourth-place finish and a home final. It will be the first time Sir Stewart Bovell Park has seen finals football since 2015 — the last time the Magpies won a premiership — and will also mean Busselton’s women’s team, who have come home with some new recruits and a wet sail, will also play a final on their own deck. Last year’s run to the grand final was the first time the Magpies had made the finals since their premiership five years earlier. The Magpies have not met the Tigers in a final since the first semifinal of the 2008 season, when a 10.12 (72) to 5.11 (41) victory saw Busselton through to a preliminary final against the unbeaten Carey Park, which they went on to lose by 39 points. The last time the two sides met in the first week of finals takes us further back to 2003 — a 13.12 (90) to 12.11 (83) win for Souths — but Saturday’s clash will be the first elimination final between them. The Magpies themselves haven’t played in an elimination final since their high-scoring seven-point win over Carey Park in 2014. They have only featured in three elimination finals in their history, with a 1-2 record. South Bunbury They have more premierships than any other club in the competition, but recent years have proved lean for the rebuilding Tigers. If they were to win the premiership this season, it would be the first time they had won a grand final against any of the other four sides in this year’s series since the 2002 derby grand final against Bunbury. While they met most recently in a final in 2008, the last time the Tigers beat the Magpies in any final was the qualifying final of 2003. On that day, a 13.12 (90) to 12.11 (83) victory for the Tigers, current league coach Stephen Bilcich kicked 2.3, and the club’s most recent premiership coach Mark Docking also chipped in with a goal. Their recent record at Bovell Park leaves a bit to be desired, having won there just once in their past four attempts — a victory in the final round of the 2018 season on their way to a finals appearance. Bunbury Bunbury enter this finals series chasing their 10th SWFL premiership. In the league’s 63-year history, 12 teams have won two or more premierships consecutively. Bunbury have done so twice, becoming the first back-to-back premiers in 1961 and 1962 before doing it again in the 1982 and 1983 seasons. They say defending a premiership is one of the hardest things to do in footy, and in the past 20 seasons, reigning premiers have won just three of a possible 10 grand finals. Only one team have defea-ted Bunbury at Payne Park since the start of the 2020 home-and-away season, with defeats by Busselton in both round seven last year and the second semifinal the only blemish on their record at home. They have, however, lost four of their past five finals at the venue. Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault and Bunbury have met 13 times in SWFL finals, with a remarkably even record of 7-6 the Lions’ way. But the Lions have also won four of the past five, with the 2017 grand final defeat their only September loss to the Dogs since the second semifinal of 1988. A shock straight-sets exit last season means the Lions will be looking for their first finals win since their 2019 grand final triumph over Eaton. Having missed the finals in 2018 between their two most recent grand final appearances, the Lions had won four of their past five finals matches ahead of last year’s early exit. As far as big game experience goes, 10 players from the club’s 2019 grand final win over Eaton played in their round 23 vic-tory over Donnybrook at the weekend. Augusta-Margaret River A stunning win over Carey Park on the final day of the season saw the Hawks to the first minor premiership of their 55-year history this season. It means they bypass the opening weekend of finals for the first time ever, and find themselves in a second semifinal against either Bunbury or Harvey-Brunswick Leschenault next weekend. It has been 10 years since the Hawks last featured in a second semi, reaching the second week of finals in 2011 after a seven-point win over Bunbury at Gloucester Park the week before. They won that game 8.6 (54) to South Bunbury’s 4.9 (33), before going on to beat the Tigers again in the premiership decider. Overall, they have played in three second semis, losing their first to Donnybrook in 1994, before winning their next two. The Hawks haven’t met either of their two possible opponents in a final for more than 15 years, last facing HBL in the 2006 preliminary final and Bunbury in the elimination final of 2005, both of which they lost.