Federal, Alkamilya win 2023 Central Australian Football League 2023 grand finals
Federal completed a perfect season for their first year coach, while Alkamilya impressed yet again on CAFL grand final day. Read all the latest action.
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Federal and Alkamilya have been crowned premiers of the Central Australian Football League after a big weekend of grand finals at the league’s Traeger Park headquarters.
The Feds turned a four-point three quarter time deficit into a 22-point win against South Alice Springs to complete a highly successful unbeaten 2023 season for first year coach Sam Laporta.
The Senior Women’s grand final turned into a thriller after half-time when eventual premiers Alkamilya were reduced to 15 fit players against a surging West Alice Springs.
The Panthers did not kick a goal in the last quarter but were good enough to hang on desperately and win their third women’s flag in six grand final appearances by just three points.
Federal’s 12.14 (86) to 10.4 (64) win secured the club’s 14th senior flag and their first since 2016, aided to a large extent by midfielder Abe Ankers claiming the Everingham Medal.
The best on ground award added to the league best and fairest Minahan Medal Ankers won on Monday night in a season to remember for the champion Demon.
LaPorta admitted to a few nerves at three quarter time when a Souths side led by six-goal spearhead Daniel Stafford were the team in front on the scoreboard.
“I got a bit nervous, absolutely, but I had faith in everybody and knew with our fitness we could run over the top of them,” he said.
“It was a great game and I’ll give a massive tick to Souths, they certainly made us work for the win.”
LaPorta said his words to the players before they broke from the huddle at three quarter-time was to keep believing in each other while emphasising the importance of pushing the ball forward.
“We had to keep fighting and fighting hard for the football and fortunately we were able to do that and hit the front when it mattered,’’ he added.
And while Ankers dominated around the ground, Joe Roberts through the middle and occasional forays forward and defender Patrick Coffey also played their part in the win.
Souths were left to lament on their second grand final loss in as many seasons after looking the goods for most of the game.
Big marking forward Daniel Stafford booted six goals in a one-man show in the Kangaroos’ forward line.
Midfielder and club captain Deacon Braun led from the front and Dominic Forbes in a variety of roles including the ruck, midfield and defence, were other good players for the blue and whites.
Souths coach Chris Forbes watched another premiership slip through his grasp after previous losses at Souths and former club Federal.
“For three quarters we played our brand of footy and controlled the ball, but Federal kicked the first couple of goals early in the last quarter and we never recovered from there,” he said.
“Federal were undefeated coming into the grand final for a reason and now they are the premiers, it’s a great credit to them for the systems they’ve got in place on and off the field.”
Alkamilya’s joint coach Brendan Verrier had to endure a heart stopping last quarter without key players Kahlisha Rioli and Jasmine Boyers before their 5.2 (32) to 4.5 (29) grand final win.
“Our girls hung in like warriors with key players injured and a yellow card for another player, meaning we were one short on the field in what was a gutsy performance,” Verrier said.
“It’s why I was so proud of our girls and the way they hung in there with Westies coming and coming at us with all the momentum required to win big games.
“It’s been an unreal season and to top it off like that was great, you couldn’t write a better story, that’s for sure.”
Kaitlyn Armstrong in front of goals and later in the middle when Rioli and Boyers were forced off the ground with hamstring and concussion issues, was sensational for the Panthers.
The consistent Teigan McCarthy in a midfield role and Chrissie Davis up forward were other standouts for the premiers.
Wests coach Alicia Stanley was immensely proud of her players despite just falling short of women’s football’s Holy Grail.
“We’re all heartbroken for sure, we had our chances but just couldn’t take the final one,’’ Stanley said.
“But we gave it our all, it wasn’t a great first quarter from us, so we had to play catch-up and I was proud we turned the game around on our terms in the second half.’’
Stanley said last season’s Margaret Liddle medallist Caitlyn Couch was outstanding around the ground, while Jess Harnischfeger and Chelsey Nelson-Bray were other good contributors.
Wests and Souths earn entry into 2023 CAFL grand finals
South Alice Springs beat reigning premiers Pioneer to claim their spot in the CAFL grand final, on a day of prelim finals where the Wests women kept their foes to a single goal.
Saturday’s grand final at Traeger Park will be the first time the red and white jumpers of Federal and the blue and white of Souths have met in the Senior Men’s Big Dance.
Federal has not won a senior flag since 2016 and Souths last greeted the premiership list in 2014.
The women’s decider will be between two-time premier Alkamilya and last season’s losing grand finalists West Alice Springs after the Bloods knocked the Pioneer E-Girls out of the premiership race.
Souths were always in control of the men’s preliminary final, kicking 15.8 (98) to 9.11 (65) to qualify for their fourth grand final in six years and second in succession after losing to Pioneer 12 months ago.
Coach Chris Forbes’ pre-match address focused on all 22 players playing hard, disciplined football on a day where there were no prizes for the losers with a grand final berth on offer.
“We had to play our own game while playing disciplined footy if we were to get the job done and credit to my boys, they did that,’’ Forbes said.
“It’s been nine years since we won a senior flag and for me it will be my fourth grand final as a coach, two with the Federal reserves and now two with Souths, all of them losses, so hopefully fortune will favour me this week.
“Federal will start red hot favourites and they’ve earned that with their unbeaten season so far, but we’ve got nothing to lose and we’re keen to reverse last season’s grand final defeat to Pioneer.’’
Dominic Forbes was Souths’ best player for his rebounding work at centre half-back, while fellow defender Keiffen Turner was another outstanding performer on dangerous Pioneer forwards Will and Shaun Foster.
Ruckman Josh Wallace played his best game of the season in a four-quarter performance that gave his running players first use of the ball.
Pioneer’s joint coach Matt Campbell said his players could not find the spark needed to win a major final despite entering the game as favourites.
“It was a disappointing result, we were competitive in the first quarter but fell asleep in the second and third quarters before getting back into it in the last when we got to within three goals,’’ he added.
Campbell pointed to defender Tyrell Woodbury as Pioneer’s best player for his four-quarter efforts in keeping big marking Souths’ forward Daniel Stafford to four goals.
Federal beat Souths three times in the 2023 minor rounds, including 52 points in Round 5, 17 in Round 10 and 38 in Round 15.
In the Senior Women, Wests booted six goals to Pioneer’s nil in the first half of the preliminary final and proceeded to keep the E-Girls to a single goal in the last two quarters in their 7.4 (46) to 1.6 (12) win.
The loss added to a disappointing day for the powerful Pioneer club, who lost all four preliminary finals they were involved in.
Wests coach Alicia Stanley was immensely proud of her players at the final siren, saying her side’s first half won them the game against a Pioneer team that had finished second after the minor rounds.
“I was super impressed with our efforts in the first half when we made the most of our inside 50s,’’ Stanley said.
“We’ve worked hard on our forward structure and our back line held strong all game.
“We’ve fought hard this season and never gave up the belief that with our full team we could be competitive.’’
The Lady Bloods were best served by the hard running Chelsey Nelson-Bray on a wing, Hannah Murdoch up forward, Madie Prendergast and 50-gamer Rachel Davine, who continues to inspire the side with her win the ball at all cost attitude.
Alkamilya and Wests played each other three times in the minor rounds, with Alkamilya winning by 47 points in Round 5, both sides played out a thrilling draw in Round 10 and Wests snapped the Panthers’ winning run by beating them by eight points in Round 15.
Alkamilya’s in-form skipper Kahlisha Rioli will face the CAFL Tribunal on Wednesday night on a rough conduct charge after colliding with Pioneer star Samantha Hoogeveen-Hill in their August 26 semi-final.
A guilty verdict will see Rioli miss the grand final, Alkamilya’s sixth in 10 seasons in the women’s competition.
2023 CAFL Grand Finals, Saturday, September 9 at Traeger Park, Alice SpringsSenior Men: Federal v Souths. Senior Women: Alkamilya v Wests
Federal, Alkamilya into 2023 CAFL grand finals
The Federal men and Alkamilya women have secured grand final berths in a spectacular opening to the 2023 Central Australian Football League finals series.
Unbeaten Federal had to call on all of its determination and will-to-win in a nail-biting nine-point win over Pioneer in the Senior Men’s major semi-final.
The inaccurate red and whites finished with 23 scoring shots to the Eagles’ 14 in a 7.16 (58) to 7.7 (49) win that lifted them into their first senior grand final since 2017.
The Alkamilya Panthers were too classy for Pioneer in the Senior Women’s major semi-final, booting eight goals to two after quarter time to advance to their sixth grand final in 10 seasons of CAFL football.
Last season’s men’s grand finalist Souths qualified for a preliminary final matchup with traditional rival Pioneer following their convincing 48-point win over Rovers in the elimination final.
And women’s side West Alice Springs, beaten grand finalists 12 months ago, overcame a goalless third quarter to beat finals rookies Federal by 24 points in their knockout game.
Federal have 14 days to prepare for their first men’s grand final since 2017 when they face off against Pioneer or Souths in the September 9 grand final at Traeger Park.
Coach Sam Laporta was pleased with his side’s intent against finals veterans Pioneers despite his forward line players suffering from an acute case of the goal kicking yips.
“We’ll be having a lot of goal kicking practice this week, that’s for sure,’’ an ecstatic Laporta said post-match.
“But winning the game was the main part, it was something we went out there to do and it was nice, although it was pretty tough out there and pretty nerve wracking at some stages.
“Once Pioneer get a run-on they’re hard to stop, so we just had to make sure we kept defending and making sure contests at the ball were always 50-50 and I’ll always back my players in when it’s like that.’’
Midfield-forward Joe Roberts was Federal’s best against the surging Eagles, while Abe Ankers around the middle and defenders Pat Coffey, Caylan LaPorta and Ned Gaynor worked hard in the win.
Pioneer’s joint coach Matt Campbell played at full back against opposing coach Sam Laporta in a rare one-on-one clash of the leaders.
“It was a bit different back down there, but I enjoyed it in a game we could easily have won,’’ he said.
“The 16 points Federal scored had a lot of rushed behinds in there and credit to our players for the intensity and pressure they put on their opponents.
“People will look at the scoreboard and say Federal would have won by a lot more if they had kicked straight, but the game was a lot closer than that.’’
Souths men’s coach Chris Forbes is already preparing for next Saturday’s preliminary final after his side’s 14.16 (100) to 7.10 (52) win over a brave Rovers side in the first semi-final.
“We’ll hit the training track this week to assess our injury list and find out who is a bit sore after a tough game of footy,’’ Forbes said.
“We just couldn’t kick straight as the scoreboard shows, something that kept Rovers in the game for a bit but we did enough to get over the line in the end.
“We’ve got our archrivals Pioneer in the preliminary final to see who plays Federal, so we’ll have to be at our best.’’
The Roos have several key players sidelined with injury, including goalkicker Thomas Gorey, utility Henry Impu and Jeremiah Scrutton.
Impu is gone for the season after knee surgery, but Gorey and Scrutton are a chance to play against Pioneer in a rematch of last season’s grand final.
Joint Alkamilya coach Brendan Verrier pointed to his side’s narrow loss to Wests in the last minor round as the spark that ignited the 45-point win over Pioneer in the women’s major semi-final.
“The loss last week gave us the fire in the belly to really perform well in what was a very good all round team effort,’’ Verrier said.
“Everyone on the ground played their role according to the gameplan and when Pioneer came at us early in the game we remained calm, cool and collective and got the job done.’’
Panthers skipper Kahlisha Rioli again led from the front with a best on ground performance out of the middle, while Hayley Maher and the consistent Jasmine Boyers found plenty of the football.
Last season’s losing grand finalists Wests had to battle hard to beat league newcomers Federal in the elimination final.
Their coach Alicia Stanley reflected on her side’s tough run into the finals after their four-goal win over the Demons lifted them into the grand final qualifier against the Fred Campbell coached Pioneer.
“As I said to the girls pre-game, we had already played three elimination finals in the past three weeks to even make finals,’’ Stanley said.
“That has brought the team a great deal of hunger and passion to play for each other against a Feds side that didn’t show any finals nerves and came out firing.’’
Rachel Davine and Redgie Walker were key players around the ground for Wests, Tiffany Tregea was outstanding with her one crucial per centers in heavy traffic and Hannah Murdoch was an important target in front of goals.
CAFL Preliminary Finals, Saturday, September 2: Men: Pioneer v Souths. Women: Pioneer v Wests.
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Originally published as Federal, Alkamilya win 2023 Central Australian Football League 2023 grand finals
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