Above: Berwick’s Lauren Phillips gets run down as she looks upfield.By Marc McGowan
HALLAM is the toast of the Footy Pak Youth Girls competition after trumping Berwick by four points in a thrilling grand final at Casey Fields on Saturday.
The Hawks kicked the game’s opening goal and held sway for the entire match, withstanding the Wickers’ second-half charge.
Just four majors were scored – three to Hallam and one to Berwick – in what was a titanic struggle for ascendancy.
The Hawks added their final six-pointer in the third quarter, before the teams fought out a goal-less fourth term.
The loss was even harder for the Wickers, considering they had beaten Hallam twice in 2008 – by three points in round six and 15 in round 13 – and had gone through the season unbeaten.
It was a similar story for the Hawks last year, after they stormed through the home-and-away season and finals undefeated only to lose to Pearcedale-Baxter in the grand final.
Berwick coach Cherie Charles offered a simple reason for her side’s defeat.
“We had more of the ball, but just didn’t convert – you can’t win a grand final kicking 1.11,” she said.
“We had seven or eight girls in the team who had played football before (this season), but the rest hadn’t and didn’t understand what a grand final is all about.
“Once they got out there they realised, and nerves may have been a factor.”
Amy Decker won the Wickers’ best-on-ground medal, while the umpires awarded Chanelle Slater the honour for Hallam.
Hawks coach Shane Bloxidge, who stepped down after four years following the triumph, was thrilled with the victory.
“I’m over the moon; I’m absolutely stoked,” he said.
“The teams match up so well it just depends on who plays the better football on the day, and we were lucky enough to do that.
“Everybody was focused on what we had to do; the girls scored the first goal and that set the tone for the day.
“Berwick never gave up and you can tell from the scores being so low how hard a tussle the game actually was.”
Six Hallam and three Berwick players competed in their final Youth Girls matches on the weekend, and will move into senior ranks next season.
The Wickers’ senior women’s team currently represents the region, but there is talk of both Cranbourne and the Hawks fielding sides in the Victorian Women’s Football League next season.
“I would hate to lose them to not playing football, so if Hallam can’t get a side I’d definitely like to see them go to Berwick or Cranbourne,” Bloxidge said.
“Just as long as they continue playing football – I don’t have a preference.”
Bloxidge praised the standard of umpiring on Saturday, and Charles thanked her club’s volunteers for their efforts this year.
