Grand Final '18: Demons vs Lions (Women's Premiership)
Wandsworth Demons 5.3.33 def. North London Lions 1.5.11
Back to back flags for Women's Premiership Division, holders of both AFL London women's cups and the Dee's taking out 4 of a possible 5 divisions… Does it get any better than this?
Following "2 weeks of sleepless nights" the She-dee's have turned around a 5 goal loss in the semi, to a 4 goal win over a terrific North London Lions outfit in the Big Dance. Make no mistake, this win took every one of our women to make the most of every single opportunity in order to get a result like this.
Kicking with the wind in the first term, the Dee's came out firing with Crofty winning countless ruck taps and our midfield unit getting right on top. The ball spent 75% of the quarter in our attacking third of the ground, however some resilient defending from North kept the score to only the 2 behinds.
Knowing the breeze would be a factor, Trucker took on the role of defensive sweeper for the 2nd quarter and played it to perfection, at one point diving full stretch to get a hand on the ball and prevent a goal like Mark Bosnich in his prime. With Spring joining B and Spud in the mids, we were not only able to keep the Lions goalless, but thanks to a big grab from Junior put the first goal of the game on the board. After an intense half of footy the Dee's were up by 4 points, but all the signs were positive if we could maintain the effort levels.
After half-time we attacked with more purpose and created several opportunities to score. Steve, Onora and Becks at half back were sensational at keeping the ball moving forward, with goals to Linda and Sharky, who certainly took home goal of the day honours in front of her proud mum. On the rare occasions the Lions did make it further forward Prip and Tester were there to mop up, whilst Jamie, in front of proud partner Shane Morgan, played out of her skin to keep the best forward in the league goalless. The buzz at the ¾ time huddle was like nothing I've ever felt, the score was 21 to 4 and we knew another repeat quarter like the last and the cup was ours.
Again against the breeze Trucker was sent back to provide extra numbers in the back half, and again she dominated all comers. The Lions surged and managed to score their first goal, but the Demons kept their heads and showed how good they can be. Moving the ball from the back half to the forward 50 with clinical precision, Junior was on the end of a free kick and 50m penalty to slot home her second, leaving friend Remi in tears on the side lines… Some say the tears were due to the bar running out of Pimms, however I'm sure it was seeing her friend kick goals. It was a quarter that seemed to last a life time, and again the Demons moved the ball forward. This time, playing with a bung shoulder and a roll of strapping tape, Noodles got on the end of the good work and slotted home a soccer goal. At this point we knew the game was ours and Noodles must have heard the Pimms bar was empty, as she too broke down in tears. Despite Guns kicking the wrong way and an audacious call for a headcount after the siren, sanity prevailed and the mighty She-Dee's won an amazing Grand Final 5.3.33 to the Lions 1.5.11.
As the fans finally flooded the ground word of the lack of Pimms spread and there were tears as far as the blurry eyes could see, it was the most moisture the Common has seen since March and nothing was going to stop it! The celebrations were just getting started, with Trucker taking home bend on ground and co-captains "Boodles" lifting the premiership cup with pride.
The season comes to an end, as does the Demon's career for many of the team, it couldn't have gone any better this season and I'm very pleased my final match report is a happy one! Thanks to everyone and anyone who makes the club tick, good luck for 2019 and make it a 3-peat!