3 sleeps to go to Junior Grand Finals!
Bellingen and Sawtell/Toormina will meet in the Youth Girls 17s Grand Final aspart of a hugely of football at the C.ex Coffs International Stadium on Sunday.
Photo: Green Shoots Marketing
The countdown is on to the Grand Finals of the AFL North Coast Junior Competition, with excitement building day by day as the deciders draw closer.
It’s been an outstanding season of Junior footy that has featured an increased number of teams, an ever improving standard of play, and an incredible number of draws and close results. Now it all comes down to the last four matches of the season.
The first match of the day is the Under 11 Grand Final which pits the undefeated Port Macquarie Flyers against the Coffs Harbour Breakers.
These two teams met in round 10 when the match was decided by just four points and everyone will be hoping for an equally close match. On that occasion the Flyers trailed for much of the match and had to rely on a big last quarter to seal victory.
Breakers will know they need to be at their best and play right through to the final siren if they are to upset the Flyers.
The Under 13 match continues the rivalry between the two clubs from the earlier game, with Port Macquarie Swoopers taking on Coffs Harbour Breakers.
The Port side goes into the Grand Final having lost only one match all season, whilst the Breakers had to win their last two regular season matches to seal third. The team from Coffs then had to survive a nail biting Semi to make it to the last day of the season.
Much like in Under 11, these teams have played once with Swoopers claiming bragging rights by one goal. This match should be a beauty.
The Youth Girls clash is a re-match of the 2020 Grand Final, where Bellingen Bulldogs pulled off a stunning upset over Sawtell Toormina Saints.
The Saints have lost one match in the past two seasons (that Grand Final!) and will be looking to atone for last season’s disappointment. A clean sweep of the home and away rounds and a convincing win in last week’s Semi sees the Sawtell girls primed and we can expect them to have a laser like focus on the big match.
The Bulldogs are the only team to get within six goals of Sawtell all season so will fully appreciate the size of the task ahead of them. However, the Doggies also know that when they have their full team together and they play to their capacity, they’re a force to be reckoned with. Plus there’s the small matter of last year’s upset that proves to the team it can be done!
A full day of action is rounded out with the Under 15 Grand Final between Port Macquarie Magpies and Nambucca Valley Lions.
Both teams finished the season with eight wins from eleven starts to suggest neither team really holds a claim on favouritism. Further reinforcing this is the fact that the record stands at one win apiece in the two head to head matches, including a match that was decided by a mere one point!
Port suffered a surprise loss in the last round of the season, but steadied the ship well with a strong Semi Final win. The Lions were expected to find themselves in an arm wrestle of a Semi Final last week but jumped to a six goal lead in the first quarter so both teams are looking strong heading into the big match.
Three more sleeps to go! Bring it on!
The Grand Final program is as follows:
Sunday 15 August – C.ex Coffs International Stadium
9:30am – Under 11: Port Macquarie Flyers v Coffs Harbour Breakers
11:10am – Under 13: Port Macquarie Swoopers v Coffs Harbour Breakers
12:50pm – Youth Girls: Sawtell Toormina Saints v Bellingen Bulldogs
2:30pm – Under 15: Port Macquarie Magpies v Nambucca Valley Lions
Everyone planning to attend the Junior Grand Finals needs a ticket which are available here.
