The Eden Whalers qualified for the Sapphire Coast AFL women’s grand final on Saturday with a 37-point victory over the Pambula Panthers at Narooma’s Bill Smyth Oval.
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It marks the third-straight year the Whalers will contest the grand final, after winning the previous two over the Tathra Sea Eagles.
The Whalers were worthy minor premiers this season, with only one blemish all year (a 48-point loss to the Narooma Lions).
However, Pambula dominated the early stages of the match, showing the energy and commitment to knock off the champs.
They capped off their early dominance with the first goal of the match through Kiarna Woolley-Blain, who took advantage of a 50-metre penalty.
The Whalers worked back into the match at that point, but only managed one goal of their own in the first quarter to lead by two points at the first break.
Scoring wasn’t an issue for the Whalers the rest of the way, as their midfield dominated proceedings to build a 15-point lead at the main break.
The Panthers only managed one more point for the entire game (in the third quarter), and Eden continued piling on points to record a 6.9 (45) to 1.2 (8) victory.
The Panthers’ loss means they will play the Tathra Sea Eagles for a spot in the grand final in next weekend’s preliminary final.
Eden 6.9 (45) (Goals: K Grubesic 2, T Westley, K Mitchell, C Sheldon, S Mongta; Best: S Mongta, M Mitchell, J Nolan, J Gwen, A Watson, T Westley) def. Pambula 1.2 (8) (Goal: K Woolley-Blain; Best: H Powell, T Wilson, K Woolley-Blain, A Hodgson, Z Buchanan, M Parsons).