The preliminary finals delivered in spades, with two closely contested matches seeing the away teams claw their way into their first ever Grand Final! But who will take out the coveted title? Let's take a look at our Grand Finalists and the key matchups that could decide the game. Majorca Islanders - @TheTassieHawk The late out of Ash Brazill did little to halt the Islanders' charge into the big dance, with the Majorca midfield putting on a clinic to upset the highly fancied Kruisers lineup. The Islander defence is lead by defender-turned-forward Georgia Garnett, who leads the league in marks, whilst the dependable duo of Bianca Jakobsson and Daisy D'Arcy will look to repel the opposition's forays forward. The Majorca midfield has starred this season, as Anne Hatchard has continued on her ever consistent ways whilst Ally Anderson has put together a career best campaign. Helped by the solid contributions of Ellie Blackburn and Nina Morrison, expect the Islanders to get plenty of first use out of the centre thanks to dependable ruck Kim Rennie. The firepower up forward shouldn't be underestimated either, with Tayla Harris, Deanna Berry and Jacqui Vogt all able to put up big scores. A very strong lineup that will fancy it's chances in the biggest game of the season. Lima Llamas - @hoschke118 An upset victory over minor premiers Darmstadt has seen the Llamas' fantastic late season run continue, but can it culminate in a fairy-tale finish? Down back, the Llamas will be relying on veteran Ange Foley to guide an inexperienced backline to glory against a strong Majorca forward line. The Lima midfield has done much of the heavy lifting this season, with superstars such as Jas Garner, Emma Swanson, Emily Bates and Liv Purcell dominating out of the centre to set up a tantalizing midfield battle, whilst ruck Mim Strom presents as one of the most improved players in the competition this year. Up forward Lima will be hoping for more from star goalkicker Gemma Houghton after her return from injury, whilst Kalinda Howarth will look to continue her strong form to help guide the Llamas to victory. So, who will take out the 2022B Grand Final? These teams met all the way back in round 1 for a narrow victory to the Islanders, but much has changed since then! Majorca has the strong formline, but the Llamas possess the belief of a team that has come from the clouds. So strap yourselves in and get ready for an incredible finale to 2022, live from 6:10PM this Friday! Good luck to the coaches, and may the best team win!
Llamas Grad Final side: DEF: Ange Foley, Madison Newman, Eleanor Brown (Naomi Ferres) MID: Emily Bates, Emma Swanson, Liv Purcell, Jasmine Garner (Alicia Eva) RUC: Mim Strom (Lucy Wales) FOR: Courtney Jones, Kalinda Howarth, Abbie Ballard (Lauren Szigeti) INT: Tahlia Hickie, Tarni White (Sophie Conway) Eleanor Brown comes in for Molly Eastman, but she has struggled to try and match her recent form this weekend, scoring just 28. The Lima reliables in Bates(66), Swanson(35) and Purcell(64) have also struggled to get into the game and Majorca star Blackburn has scored a 111. The Islanders are ahead roughly 10/660 to 9/504. The Llamas will be relying on veterans Foley and Garner, as well as Gold Coast forwards Howarth and Jones to try and get back into this Grand Final. Shout out to @TheTassieHawk who is coaching their 3rd straight Grand Final, after taking over a different team this year. Amazing record.
The Islanders selection committee have named the side to take on the Llamas in the GWFFPL 2022B Grand Final There are two changes with Ash Brazill returning on place of Daisy D'arcy (who was a late call up for the prelim) and Madison Gay likewise replacing Dana Hooker. Please note that this team is subject to change Def = Jakobsson, Brazill, Garnett (D'Arcy), Mid = Blackburn, Hatchard, N Morrison, Anderson (Hooker) Fwd = Berry, Harris, J Vogt (Bohanna) Ruck = Rennie (Good) IC = Gay, Lewis (Chiocci) 2nds - Ahrens, Stevens, Newton Injured/HSP/suspended - McGrath
An inspired Majorca side have brought the home fans to a frenzy by defeating a gallant Lima side by around 100 points @hoschke118 Season 2022B for the Islanders was bookended by wins over the Llamas with this victory bringing Majorca it's first GWFFPL silverware. The majority of the current team build took place in 2021-2022A and the former Las Vegas Legends coached by @Pearcey47 made the 2022A Grand Final but found the Storm too tough in the GF. Incoming management axed some list cloggers and in came Georgia Garnett (PSD), Jacquie Vogt, Maddison Gay, Dee Berry and Kim Rennie (all MSD) The 5 newbies were named to play in the GF but Rennie dropped out late and was replaced by a preseason draftee in Jess Good. The mix of old and new was successful in making the finals and then defeating Kyoto and Lima to take out the title in an upset given the dynamic form of the top 2 throughout the regular season. I have no illusions that defending the premiership will be multitudes harder than winning this edition, given the degree to which lady luck limited the bad while liberally sprinkling the good at critical points this year. Without further adieu I look forward to re-joining the Majorca Mad Monday celebrations while wishing everyone the best for the offseason and look forward to hearing from you all again around July/August 2023 when we once again crack open the spreadsheets and prepare for the 2023 Premier League season. Cheers, TTH