THE Woorinen girls football team will be aiming to send off coach Jason Murphy with a premiership trophy to his name when they meet White Hills in this Sunday’s grand final.
Despite losing to White Hills in the second semi-final a fortnight ago, the Tigers will go into the match with their confidence restored after demolishing Golden Square by 70 points in the preliminary final last weekend.
That performance showed that at their best, Woorinen can be near on unstoppable, having finished the season with an 11-2 win-loss record.
The only side the Tigers have had issues in overcoming this season has been White Hills, with Woorinen’s only win against the Demons coming all the way back in round 1 by 13 points.
Since that game, White Hills have remained undefeated, including three wins against the Tigers.
But while Woorinen will go in as underdogs, Murphy is confident that if his team are first to the ball and win the contested footy, they will come out on top.
“We’ve seen what works against them (White Hills) and now we can really go for it,” Murphy told The Guardian this week.
“We’ve got a couple of girls to come back in which will strengthen us from when we last time played them in the semi-final.
“ It’s going to come down to who gets to the footy first and puts it through the sticks, but I think we can get them.”
Woorinen captain Brydi Lewis was looking forward to Sunday’s game and running out in her first grand final in the yellow and black.
She wants to emulate the clubs women’s team, who earlier this month played in their first premiership decider.
“It’s really exciting, it’s the reason why we play and spend hours travelling down to Bendigo and back each Sunday,” Lewis said.
“To think we will be playing in a grand final is a bit daunting, but it’s definitely exciting at the same time.”
While it will be the first grand final for Lewis and her teammates, the Tigers have tasted success in the past, with the club looking for their third title after winning back-to-back premierships in 2016 and 2017.
It will be Murphy’s last time in charge of the Tigers, with the long-time coach taking the reins at Nyah-Nyah West United next season having spent several seasons growing the girls football program at Woorinen.
Although it’s sure to be a bittersweet moment for the popular leader, both Murphy and the team are completely focused on the task at hand and making sure they go one step further than their older clubmates.
“I’m trying not to think about that (finishing up) to be honest,” Murphy said.
“I’m sure it will be a bit emotional on Sunday, but a win will certainly help dull those emotions.
“I’ve just kind of pushed it to the back of my mind and am preferring to just focus on the game and making sure we get the best out of the girls on Sunday now.
