2025 SFL Community League live stream: Watch three grand finals live
Huonville well and truly turned the tables on Cygnet in Saturday’s SFL Community League grand final, with the Lions producing a premiership win for the ages. Watch the REPLAY.
It was a comeback for the ages at North Hobart Oval on Saturday as the Huonville Lions dug themselves out of a huge first half hole to claim the SFL Community League premiership over nemesis Cygnet by 18 points.
The Port dominated the first half and by the long break held a 38-11 lead, with the Lions only scoring their first goal literally seconds before halftime.
Coach Callen Daly savaged the Lions during the break.
They came out roaring in the third term, their intensity and commitment boosting them to a victory no one saw it coming – their first over Cygnet in 2025.
Daly was superman clad in a Huonville jumper, his leadership through action set an example his teammates followed.
When the Community League’s most feared forward, Mickey Paul, kicked his fourth goal and sealed the game entering time-on in the final term, the huge Huonville contingent in the crowd knew their men had the club’s first flag in five years.
Daley, who will probably never pay for a beer in Huonville again, was almost lost for words.
“It’s hard to explain what this means,” he said.
“The club has had a couple of tough years after the last grand final loss.
“It took a long time to build that belief back up, but we did that today.”
Daly turned the game on its head with his halftime address.
The Lions kicked 9.6 to 2.3 after the break, with Paul kicking the first goal of the second half and the Lions’ last two majors.
“I feel like in the past Huonville probably would have dropped the bundle – we needed to remain calm and stick to the process, and it paid off,” Daly said.
Cygnet drew first blood when George O’Neill kicked the opening goal and the contest tightened until Archie Gill broke the deadlock with a 50m bomb in time on to give Cygnet a 13-3 quarter-time lead.
Best-afield medal winner Jack Preshaw got the traffic going Huonville’s way early in the second but Lachy Watt dented the Lions confidence with Cygnet’s third goal six minutes in.
A short time later young teammate Matty Fletcher kicked one for the highlight reel, followed by majors to Tom Clark and James Zeitzen in time-on to build a 33 point lead.
Goalless so far, Lions ruckman Rhys Ward gave Huonville hope when he kicked its first seconds before halftime.
The Lions came out snarling in the third, closing the gap in the first 12 minutes and taking the lead with a Mickey Paul special after the three quarter-time siren.
It was party time in the fourth when the Lions kicked away to win their second flag in six attempts over the past seven season.
Please note – Due to technical issues, the replay of Cygnet v Huonville Lions (Senior Men) from the 2025 SFL grand finals is missing some action at the beginning of Q3. We will provide a full replay as soon as possible.
Claremont v Hutchins (SFL Community League Women’s grand final)
Claremont has become a dynasty.
The Magpies claimed their third premiership in a row knocking off Hutchins by 23 points in the SFLW Community League.
It is the first time in competition history a women’s team has claimed three premierships in a row as the Magpies ran out 5.7 (37) to 2.2 (14) winners.
Natalie Curtis, who is one of few players to have won all three grand finals, was named best on ground.
“It was such a great feeling, I still love it, just as much as the other two,” Curtis said.
“Everyone played their part today and that is what I love about this team, everyone puts in 100 per cent and does what we need to.
“We stuck to our plan today and now it is time for a big party, going to be plenty of celebrations tonight.”
Daisy Murphy, who was Hutchins only goal kicker, booted the first goal of the game in what was a hard fought contest from the first bounce.
Claremont responded almost instantly as the two sides showed why they have been the two best teams of the season.
Magpies forward Chanette Thuringer booted two goals including the sealer in the fourth quarter.
“Hutchins are such a great side, they use their run and carry well and can be a dangerous side,” Curtis said.
“We expect them to be back next year, bigger and tougher to play against and we look forward to that challenge.
“I’m 34 now, I’ve got four kids, I don’t know if I will but we will see how we go I guess.
“But as for now, let’s celebrate tonight and enjoy this win, I know the girls are keen.”
It is the second year in a row where Claremont and Hutchins have faced off in the SFLW Community League grand final with the Magpies winning last year’s premiership by 11 points.
Claremont finished the season off with a perfect record going undefeated throughout the whole year.
Over the past three premiership seasons, Claremont has lost just the one game which came against Lauderdale in round 11, 2023 where they went down by just two points.
Claremont have won four of the last six premierships having won in 2020 and falling short in 2021 and 2022.
Curtis was named the Sandra Eaton Medalist at the SFL Awards night on Monday.
Cygnet v Huonville Lions (SFL Community League Reserves grand final)
Cygnet have claimed the SFL Community League reserves premiership with a thumping victory over rivals Huonville by 52-points.
As tempers flared late in the contest with players getting removed from the game, Port held their nerve to run out 9.7 (61) to 1.3 (9) at North Hobart Oval.
In what was a scrappy first half with Cygnet kicking 2.7 to Huonville’s one point, the game was waiting for someone to just break it open.
That came in the third quarter as Port booted five goals off the back of a blistering third quarter from Nathan Duggan.
Duggan was named best on ground as he helped his side silence the Huonville crowd in the third quarter.
“Oh it was a great win by our boys, you know they (Huonville) have been such a great side all year,” Duggan said.
“We don’t have many rocket scientists in our grade, so we didn’t change much at all, just stuck to our process and put it together when it mattered.
“It was a real scrap in that first half, we knew it was going to be like that but we just stuck to our process.
“I didn’t think I touched the ball much in that first half, probably shouldn’t say that but it means a lot to win this award but it means even more to win the flag.”
Duggan came back late this season from a serious knee injury saving his best game of the year for the last one in 2025.
It was the second win for Cygnet in the SFL Community League grand finals after the under 18s Southern Storm claimed a seven point victory.
PREVIEW
Cygnet are heading into Saturday’s SFL Community League grand final as favourites but coach Lachy Watt believes the regular season plays no part in finals atmosphere.
The Port haven’t dropped a game this season, being the first team through to the grand final after beating Huonville in the semi-final two weeks ago.
Now, they will line up against the Lions to decide the premiers for the third time in five years.
The Cygnet v Huonville senior grand final headlines a massive day of SFL action on KommunityTV, with both the reserves and women’s deciders also streamed live and exclusive.
See the full schedule below.
Watt said this is the most nervous he has ever felt going into a grand final.
“Last year was my first year as a coach and it was sort of no expectations on the year,” Watt said.
“This year’s my second year, we’ve got a really strong list and there’s obviously more expectations and naturally that builds pressure.
“But I’ve got full confidence in the group, we’ve really bought in this season, across all three grades.
“I think we’re really hitting our straps at the right time of the year, looking forward to it.”
The Lions have lost to the Port by an average of 16 points in the three games they have played this season – including a six-point defeat in round 9.
But that hasn’t stopped Lions coach Cal Daly from firmly believing his side can walk away premiers on Saturday.
“We definitely can. We’ve put a lot of work into them over the past month on how to beat them but they’re a super side, so on the day it’s going to take our best,” Daly said.
“We know that, but all the pressure is on them, we’ll go in stress free and play our best footy.
“When you get a chance to embrace that (the underdog tag) I think that’s the best position to be in, obviously we know what it’s like to go in undefeated with the weight on our shoulders.
“So having that turned around (onto Cygnet) and going in stress free is really important.”
It is a huge day for the Huon Valley region with all three men’s grand finals being played between Cygnet and Huonville on Saturday.
