FINAL '17: Demons vs Giants (W.Prem)

Mitch Skelly | 16.08.17

Wandsworth Demons 5.4 (34) def. South East London Giants 0.1 (1)

2017 Champions – What a season!

Before we go through the weekend's game we'll have a look at some of these numbers clocked up by our women's premiership team this season... points for 375, points against 46. In 4 of the 8 games played the opponent was scoreless, in 6 of the 8 they did not score a goal. Other than the loss to the Giants (a game in which most of our prem team missed due to representing GB, Ireland or AFL London) we only conceded 2 goals in 7 hours of footy. In 2 finals we scored 98 points to 1… In strong a league which saw more 18 per side games than previous years, this Demons team was a juggernaut and probably the most talented group of female footballers outside of Australia.

The build up to Saturday was one of nerves, excitement and expectations. Following the season we had there was no result that would be acceptable that did not start with a big fat W. The day itself was a strange one with thunderstorms, sunshine, wind, a game that had to be halted for 45 minutes, and conditions were far from perfect. The first quarter was a little bit flat, to their credit the Giants made it an absolute do fight. Crofty was winning the ruck, with a midfield lead by B and Trucker winning the clearances, but scoring was difficult. Both teams were relentless, however a break through saw Pudge stream into an open goal to bang on the first goal. She's probably already told everyone, but Socksy took a lovely 1 hander – something she has had to be very good at with her mobile phone glued to the other mitt. Her obsession with social media typified by having Shivvy take a photo of her injured hand before she would allow the trainer to tape it up!

The wind only got stronger in the second quarter and rain started to fall. It was tough hard footy, not the free flowing stuff the Dee's are known for, but grand finals are a different beast and you have to adapt. The physicality of Princess and Snakesy at half back, along with a cool head from Nic D, stopped the Giants from scoring a goal, at the other end some clean hands and good finish saw Auto score our 2nd goal.

The 3rd quarter was a slippery affair, however we looked better and better. Steve was finding space everywhere. Meanwhile MC and Ri both did great shut down jobs on the Giants better players. Some clean work by Betho and Tessa had us looking dangerous, but it was a quick reaction kick and goal from Auto that got our 3rd and her 2nd. By the end of the quarter there was some real confidence, the Giants were hardly able to get past the middle and She-Dee footy was paying off.

Finally after the slog of the first 3 terms it started to open up for the final stanza. We moved the ball fast and gave our forwards plenty of chances. In a rare turn of events Tessa was held goalless, however Nom Fim did take a great mark, before getting ironed out and then calmly slotting home her first goal for the Dee's. The game was now beyond the Giants, however the She-Dee's never stopped running and Vice-Captain Noodles capped off a strong game of footy with a goal of her own.

When the final siren went it was time to celebrate a great victory, not just for the 24 players on the park, but for all of the girls that were involved in the club this year. After an early season scoreboard-photo ban it was time to do 1 more! Becks was deservedly awarded the best on ground award, however all of our midfield put up strong cases and must have been contenders. With the season done and dusted I have no idea what I'm going to do with myself... it's been an absolute blast and I've loved every minute of it (Even when we played bad and I got grumpy). For some you'll never wear the Demons colours again, for others you'll never play footy again, but one thing we will always have is memories (and social media posts) of being the best team in London for 2017.

Goals: Auto 2, Pudge, Nom Fim, Noodles
Best: "Team Effort"

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