WOORINEN’S women’s and girls’ teams have both booked spots in this weekend’s Central Victoria Football League preliminary finals.
The two sides travelled to Bendigo’s Queen Elizabeth Oval on Sunday morning, where the senior side took on Eaglehawk for the second time in two weeks.
After defeating their opponents by 133 points in the season’s final round, the Tigers faced a tougher test in their four-goal win on Sunday.
Both Tigers teams were lucky to have finished their games before Sunday’s wild weather hit Bendigo – so intense was the thunderstorm, the second semi-final between Castlemaine and Golden Square was abandoned.
That outcome means Woorinen’s senior women will face Golden Square this Friday night, after Castlemaine were put straight through to next month’s grand final.
Facing elimination with a loss, the Tigers women started the game the brightest, holding Eaglehawk to a single behind for the first half while kicking three goals.
From there, the Tigers never looked back, adding two more goals in the second half while peppering the goals and holding the Hawks to 13 points for the game.
Courtney Wakefield starred once again, finishing as the game’s only multiple goalkicker with three and stamping her authority on the match.
Jenna Bannam and Casy Unger rounded out the Woorinen goalkickers, kicking a single goal each.
The Tigers’ best players also included Jenna Bannam, Jemma Meehan, Madison Allan and Ngaire Harlan.
Coach Katelyn Hazlett said her side would be in good stead if they could keep up their style of football this Friday.
“We’ve beaten Golden Square before, so we just have to go in and respect them and our own abilities,” she said.
“It’s a do-or-die clash this week, we’ll either be heading to a grand final or our season is wrapped up.
“A big thing I’ve been asking the players to think about is the reason they play football, why we travel and why we put our bodies on the line each weekend.
“The girls in last year’s side who have felt the pain of losing a premiership are really keen to go one step better.
“Now that it’s within arm’s reach and we have that opportunity, we’ll be giving everything we’ve got to go one better this year.”
The women’s side’s victory followed the young Tigers’ showdown with Strathfieldsaye, in which they led all game to run away winners by 42 points.
Grace Ayars and Issy Boulton continued their wonderous goalkicking ways, the pair both kicking four of the Tigers’ 11 goals for the match.
The run of wingers Milla Stewart and Carly Shepherd was immense, while 14-year-old Meg Young also starred alongside Eva Coffey, Lauren Clarke and Nevaeh Roberts.
Coach James Downing said his team overcame some early jitters to show their ability to tear a game apart with their team-focused play.
“We were lucky we were treated to nice sunny conditions, there was plenty of opportunity to run and bounce the footy,” he said.
“There were a couple of nerves around before the game, but the team worked their way into the match as a group after conceding the first two goals.
“We really got to work in the second and third quarters to put the game beyond doubt and not give Strathfieldsaye the chance to get back into it.
The team will now play White Hills’ under-18s on Friday evening when they return to Queen Elizabeth Oval.
A 72-point win over the Demons in round 13 will fill the Tigers with hopes of wrapping up a grand final spot, but they are under no impressions it’ll be easy.
But Downing said the preliminary final would come down to whichever team held the most belief going into the match.
“White Hills have set the benchmark for the last couple of years in this competition,” Downing said.
“They’ve been on top of the ladder all season, but our girls have a lot of belief in themselves and as a team.
“This team isn’t ready to say goodbye to their season just yet, they’re priming themselves for another crack at White Hills this weekend.”
Both teams will travel to Queen Elizabeth Oval on Friday evening, when the under-18s kick off the action at 5.30pm and the women play Golden Square from 7.20pm.
