Women's Eagles onto the Grand Final

Mansfield 1.4 (10) defeated Moama 0.1 (1) On a cold and wet winter’s day, the girls headed to Deakin Reserve to take on Moama in a do-or-die semi-final for a spot in the Grand Final. The girls couldn’t wait to get another opportunity against Moama after two close games during the season. We knew that if we played the right way, stuck to our game plan and trusted what we had been building all year, we were capable of beating them. Moama came in with a full squad of 25 against our 15, but the rain can be a great equaliser in football and we knew it was going to be a low-scoring game. Having kept sides goalless at different stages throughout the year, we knew our defence could stand up. The question was whether we could put enough score on the board at the other end. Coming off a 121-point win the week before, there was a confidence and determination around the girls from the moment they arrived. The ferocity in the warm-up and the focus leading into the game was probably the best I had seen all year. They really wanted this one. The first quarter played out exactly as you would expect in those conditions and a real arm wrestle ensued. Moama had moments where they moved the ball forward and we had ours, but neither side could put a score on the board. For us, an even scoreboard at quarter-time was the perfect start. We hadn’t allowed Moama to get the jump or build any confidence. Our structures were holding up, the midfielders were jumping on every loose ball and the girls were playing exactly the type of wet-weather football we had spoken about: territory and contest. In the second quarter, we started to gain the ascendancy. We had long periods with the ball locked in our forward half and, while we initially struggled to hit the scoreboard, we were keeping the ball far enough away from Moama that they couldn’t score either. Then, in the final minute of the half, Mim Davidson kicked truly to give us the first goal of the game and a valuable lead going into half-time. The message at the main break was pretty simple: keep doing what you’re doing. Trust the system, trust the process and keep throwing yourself into every contest. The third quarter was another arm wrestle, with neither team really able to take control. Moama managed a point and we added two ourselves, giving us an eight-point lead heading into the final quarter. At the last break, there wasn’t much that needed to be said. I told the girls not to go away from anything they had been doing. Keep attacking the contest, keep trusting each other, and we had 15 minutes to get ourselves into a Grand Final. And the girls delivered. The way they attacked the football and continued to throw themselves at every loose ball was incredible to watch. Every time Moama came forward, the girls found a way to repel them. They rode the bumps, fought for every opportunity and continued to play territory and stoppage football right until the final siren. It was the perfect game of wet-weather football, and when the siren sounded Mansfield had got the job done by nine points and booked a place in the Grand Final. It was a fantastic reward for a group that has come such a long way this year. The girls executed the game plan, never allowed Moama to gain any real ascendancy and, most importantly, played for each other from the first bounce until the last. We now head to Moama to face Shepparton United in the Grand Final. It’s a fitting reward for a season built on effort, structure, growth and playing for each other and this town. I couldn’t be prouder of the girls, and I can’t wait to see what they can do next weekend.