IT was a tough day for the two locals teams in Western Victoria Female Football League grand final action, with both the Hamilton Kangaroos and Cavendish returning from Mortlake’s D.C. Farran Oval empty handed on Sunday.

Cavendish got the closest to premiership glory, falling 34 points short of South Warrnambool in the Under-18 clash.

The Bloods kicked the opening goal of the game within the first minute through Georgie Harris, and keeping the Roosters scoreless in the opening term gave the side hope they were going to be in the contest throughout the game.

The Roosters had the wind advantage in the second term and made better use, kicking four goals from eight scoring shots to go into the main break with a 22-point lead.

The third term saw both teams score a goal, keeping the margin the same at the final change of ends, before the minor premiers kicked three more goals in the final quarter to win, 8.6 (54) to 3.2 (20).

Harris was joined on the goal kicker list by Maddie Cotten and Giselle Salas, while Tilly Mason stood out for the Bloods with strong efforts all day on the wing.

Cavendish coach, Dion Brook said he was proud of the team’s progress this year and knew it would take a special effort to get over the minor premiers.

“Of course we want to come down here and win, but only one team can win and we are super proud of the girls getting to this position and the way they played today,” he said.

“They fought really hard, we had 20 players and they had 24, so we were undermanned from the start.

“It was a great start, it would have been nice to get a couple more with the wind in the first quarter, but South is a quality team and they defended when they needed to and attacked when they needed to.”

Brook said the result also demonstrated a clear trend for the team during the season.

“Last time it was 79 points, each team this year we have been getting closer and closer to and then eventually beating, so these are the only girls we haven’t beaten now, but we have gone from 79 points (last time against South Warrnambool) to 34 points,” Brook said.

Cavendish spread the load with each of the players contributing across the field, with the side expected to be much the same again next season, with added confidence from Sunday’s appearance.

“I thought Matilda Mason on the wing played brilliantly, Maddie Cotten she was playing all over the ground and played well, Matilda Brook, (and) Milly Thomas, (but) I don’t think there was necessarily a standout, the girls all contributed across the park,” Brook said.

“We built on last year, we kept a fair few of the team together from last year, I think we should be able to keep most of this team together for next year, then bring a few more in.”

Under-15

THE Hamilton Kangaroos took to the field as heavy underdogs against a North Warrnambool Eagles team which hadn’t lost a game in three years, with the blue and white putting in a gallant effort, losing by 42 points.

Hamilton conceded three goals in the first term, which proved to be the Eagles’ highest scoring term for the game, as the blue and white went into quarter time trailing by 20 points.

The Eagles added 1.4 in the second term, while the Kangaroos still had not managed to trouble the scorers, as the team regrouped at half time.

An improved defensive effort in the second half kept the Eagles to just 14 points, while kicking two behinds, as the Kangaroos trailed, 0.2 (2) to 6.8 (44) at the final siren.

Kangaroos coach, Pat Sherlock said he was proud of the way the girls took on the game and the day was a good reward for the team’s season.

“We came down with no expectations, I said to the girls in the rooms that we were just happy to get a game of footy at the start of the year and to make finals was just the cherry on top,” he said.

“The girls just wanted to keep fighting to get as close as they could.”

Ruby Cleaver received the AFL Victoria Country medal for best on ground and was named the Roos’ best as well.

“Ruby goes wherever we want her to go, she hunts the footy and is a big, long kick, and a few other girls covered her when she ran off, so it was a team effort to get Ruby the freedom and space she got as well,” Sherlock said.

“Ruby is the only one who can’t play Under-15s next year, so we will have another strong side again in 2025.”

More photos from the two games will be in Saturday’s Spec.