Women’s Country Championships: South West claim sixth title with 21-point final win over Great Northern

South West have maintained their dominance in the Women’s Country Championships with a 21-point win over Great Northern in the competition’s final. Playing the carnival at home for the first time, the powerhouse region did not quite produce their best in the decider but were good enough to claim a sixth title from as many editions of the carnival with a 4.11 (35) to 2.2 (14) victory under lights at Hands Oval. Former West Coast Eagle Ella Smith was recognised for a dominant two days of football with both the medal for the final’s best player and the award for the best and fairest player over the course of the championships. The South West captain had plenty of support from Kloe Bassett, Beth Beckett, Rennie Meadmore and Daisy Rigby, who were all excellent in the final and named in the carnival’s All Stars side. Having been on the wrong end of a 34-point loss to the same opponent in their pool stage fixture only a day earlier, Great Northern would have lost no admirers for their efforts in the final but ultimately were short of the quality and depth of contributors enjoyed by their opponents. Great Northern did not manage a goal in Thursday’s game between the sides but produced one inside the first five minutes of the final, which came through a Tia Morgan set-shot tumbling through an open goal square. South West were able to respond in quick time through Tanisha Anderson but burned some chances to open up a larger lead at the first break until a goal from Rennie Meadmore on the stroke of the quarter-time siren enabled them to head in with a nine-point buffer. The hosts continued to press through the duration of the second term but could only add one behind as Great Northern’s defence held firm. And they were made to pay for their inefficiency when Emily McAuley soccered Great Northern’s second goal of the game only moments into the third term to cut the gap back inside one straight kick. Gemma Hill promptly restored South West’s buffer by swooping on a loose ball and finishing with class but their sustained efforts to open up a greater margin continued to be denied by their opponents’ dogged defending. The impact of two days worth of football looked to be telling on both teams in a final term where neither were able to cover the ground with any real verve. As the clock ticked into the final minutes, Hill was again able to show stand-out speed in bursting clear of a would-be tackler and slamming through a goal which erased any lingering doubt over the result. The division two decider featured Goldfields earning promotion to division one at next year’s championships by beating North Pilbara by 15 points. A pair of goals from Lilly Dhu either side of three-quarter-time cut North Pilbara’s deficit back to eight points in the early stages of the last term but the eventual winners lifted in response to ensure they claimed a 6.4 (40) to 4.1 (25) victory. Goldfields will replace Peel in division one at next year’s championships after the Cavaliers suffered a 12-point loss to Great Southern in the division one relegation play-off. Great Southern — who handed South West their sole defeat for the carnival on Friday morning — kicked the only four goals of the first half to set up a 4.8 (32) to 3.2 (20) victory. In the division two third-place play-off, Esperance edged out Kimberley by one point, winning 1.2 (8) to 1.1 (7).