Three-peat: Figtree Kangaroos secure third consecutive AFL South Coast Premier Division grand final win

Coach Michael Coleman picked up the Best on Ground as he led his side to a second grand final under his reign, lifting the trophy aloft with captain Jacob Hennessy who has skippered the side to all three grand final wins.

“I wasn’t expecting it actually,” said Coleman about his award.

“I owe a lot of thanks to the boys, they give me a lot of licence to play the way I do.

“It’s humbling to get it, but I owe it all to the boys.”

It’s the first time a team has won three premierships in a row since the Premier Division was formed in AFL South Coast in 2015, with Wollongong University the last to do the three-peat prior to this in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

The Kangaroos beat the Tigers in all four quarters of the game to destroy any hope of a fairytale first grand final win since 1984 for the Northern Districts side.

“To their credit they played their style of footy, and that will hold them in good stead going forward,” Coleman said.

“Our goal was to go out and to take energy away from them, absorb it, because we knew they’d come out firing.

“I thought Jeremy Woodford was awesome, he didn’t stop until the final siren, same with a few others on their team.”

Benjamin Yakimov and Joel Bottin-Noonan led the way up top for the Kangaroos with four goals each, taking Yakimov’s total to 71 for the season.

“Joel had a terrific second half, really got us going forward from midfield and kicked some great running goals.

“Brandon Lagana was great as well, he ran all day forward and back, contesting the footy and laying down tackles.”

In the Women’s Premier Division it was another title defence as the Wollongong Lions edged out Figtree Saints 22-15.

A narrow back-and-forth encounter which went all the way to the end, with the Lions showing their championship class to make it back-to-back grand final wins over Figtree.

“It was pretty nerve-wracking actually,” said Wollongong head coach Nick Bretherton.

“Credit to Figtree, they played unreal and made it a really tight contest.

“We got the job done though and that’s what great teams do, sticking to it even in adversity and grinding out wins.”

The win cements an undefeated season for the Lions, with Charlee McPherson voted Best on Ground in her side’s win.

“Charlee was great, she’s small in stature but so strong and so reliable,” Bretherton said.

“She had Caitlin Williams from Figtree hanging off her all game , who is quite a lot bigger than her, and she held her own.

“She has a great long kick that got us out of congestion a lot on the weekend, clean hands, good off the deck, brave, she has it all.”

Shanae Flower kicked two goals and Lola Sossai kicked one for the Lions, while Amelia Martin and Ashlee Maddern were the sole goal scorers for the Saints.

The other standout on the park for coach Bretherton was the ever-reliable Kirsty Philpott in the middle.

“If there’s anyone you can trust, it’s her,” Bretherton said.

“She’s always in the right spot at the right time, whether it’s dropping back or being in front of the footy.

“So strong, so reliable, that was an all-time performance from her.”

Full grand final day results:

Men’s Division Two: Wollongong Bulldogs 40 def. Ulladulla Dockers 26

Women’s Division One: Kiama Power 53 def. Northern Districts Tigers 0

Men’s Division One: Wollongong Bulldogs 61 def. Bomaderry Tigers 21

Women’s Premier Division: Wollongong Lions 22 def. Figtree Saints 15

Men’s Premier Division: Figtree Kangaroos 73 def. Northern Districts Tigers 33

Grand final previews

The AFL South Coast Season has reached its summit as the remaining teams gear up for grand final weekend.

There are interesting stories across both men’s and women’s grand finals, with both finals consisting of reigning premiers looking to defend their crowns against hungry outsiders.

Check out the full grand final preview as we talk to all the coaches across both premier divisions, asking them to rate their chances of victory and pick out the key threats from the opposition.

Who will emerge victorious?

Men’s Premier Division

It’s first against third in the Men’s Premier Division grand final as defending premiers the Figtree Kangaroos take on the Northern Districts Tigers.

The Tigers are the surprise inclusion in this year’s final having managed to break the mould of the traditional two top teams in the competition being Figtree and the Wollongong Bulldogs.

The Tigers made a statement victory against the Bulldogs in the preliminary final to qualify for the big dance, perhaps a sign of changing times for the league.

“We’ve been on the up for a while,” said Tigers head coach Glenn Haase.

“It’s a very young group, the average age is probably 21, but they’ve all been playing juniors together through the years and have become a very tight-knit group.

“The belief is there and they’re all hungry for a win on the weekend.”

The Kangaroos emerged victorious in the first three meetings between the sides this season, but each time the margin became slimmer until eventually the Tigers edged the competition heavyweights at the fourth attempt.

“We’re actually really excited about the weekend, it’s a new story with a new opposition,” said Kangaroos head coach Michael Coleman.

“We see a lot of similarities in the Districts to us, having watched them build a good team and good culture from the ground up over the last few years.

“They’re an exciting side with a good brand of footy, and we’re prepared for that.”

The Kangaroos have retained about 70% of the squad that defeated the Bulldogs in the 2022 grand final, while the Tigers haven’t won a grand final since 1984.

Figtree go into the game with a full selection of players to choose from, while Northern Districts are without captain Brendan Davis who they lost to a broken collarbone, as well as Jay Thorn to an ankle injury.

Coaches pick out threats:

Figtree’s Coleman is wary of threats all across the park in the Northern Districts line-up.

Heath Beaumont is a menace up top having scored 24 goals this season, joined in the forward line by Ciaran Flynn who edges him out with 26. Coleman also picked out Ryan Dunn as a danger from the flank role.

Coach Haase was on the same page as Coleman with the names mentioned, also praising Jeremy Woodford and Caleb Higgins for their recent form.

When looking at the Kangaroos, Haase said their opposition are the benchmark in the competition for their strength in midfield and ability to get the ball in the hands of their key forwards.

Benjamin Yakimov leads the league with a whopping 67 goals after really raising his game in the second half of the year.

Jacob May is another who has gotten better as the year has gone on, as has the veteran Daniel Johnson who is in career-best form at fullback.

Women’s Premier Division

It’s a 2022 grand final replay as the Wollongong Lions look to defend their crown against the Figtree Saints.

Minor premiers the Wollongong Lions have gone through the entire season undefeated in a ruthless title defence, while the third placed Figtree Saints are in optimistic spirits after upsetting the second placed Wollongong Bulldogs in the preliminary final.

“Morale is sky high after that one,” said Saints coach Darrin Collier.

“From the onset we just applied a heap of pressure, using the wind to our advantage.

“If we can stick to our process and play with the same kind of enthusiasm we did against the Bulldogs, we’re in with a real shot.”

The Wollongong Lions have been the benchmark team in the Women’s Premier Division for the last two seasons now, boasting three teams across the two grades.

“We’ve got such a young playing group and having them play at this level so early is great for the future,” said Lions coach Nick Bretherton.

“The culture we create for players down here is the most important thing, winning is just the cherry on top.”

The Lions have run away convincing winners in all three meetings between the sides so far this season.

“It’s definitely going to be a fight this weekend, it’s always going to be different come a grand final,” Bretherton said.

“They’ve clearly hit some dangerous form with the way they took out the Bulldogs in quite convincing fashion.

“We’ll just be sticking to our brand of footy, trusting ourselves and trying not to cater to the pressure of a grand final.”

Coaches pick out threats:

Bretherton picked out Caitlin Williams as an obvious threat having been runner-up for the league’s BNF, as well as Amelia Martin for her strength and quickness from centre half forward.

Collier also added praise for captain Kat Gow and centre Lily MacDonald for their form in the second half of the season.

As for the Lions, Collier said there’s threat all over the park for his opposition, but highlighted the obvious threat of Kirsty Philpott in the middle, as well as the lethal Lola Sossai up top.

Bretherton also added some praise for Tazmin Fulcher in the ruck, saying she’s been one of the best in the competition this year and crucial to ensuring the Lions have first use of the footy consistently.

Full seniors grand final day schedule

All games are at North Dalton Park 1:

Men’s Division Two: Wollongong Bulldogs vs Ulladulla Dockers – 9:30am

Women’s Division One: Northern Districts Tigers vs Kiama Power – 11:25am

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Men’s Division One: Bomaderry Tigers vs Wollongong Bulldogs – 1:10pm

Women’s Premier Division: Wollongong Lions vs Figtree Saints – 3:15pm

Men’s Premier Division: Figtree Kangaroos vs Northern Districts Tigers – 5:00pm

Originally published as Three-peat: Figtree Kangaroos secure third consecutive AFL South Coast Premier Division grand final win