Wildcats chase historic reserves flag
Woodside’s reserves are through to the North Gippsland Football Netball League grand final after holding off a determined Cowwarr by six points in a gripping preliminary final.
The Wildcats prevailed 7.6 (48) to 6.6 (42), surviving a fierce final-quarter challenge to book a premiership showdown with Heyfield.
Woodside made a blistering start, kicking 4.2 to Cowwarr’s 1.0 in the opening term to establish a 20-point advantage.
Cowwarr responded strongly in the second quarter, booting two goals while holding the Wildcats to two behinds to reduce the margin to eight points at the main break.
The contest tightened further during the third term, with Woodside carrying a narrow 5.5 (35) to 4.3 (27) advantage into the final change.
Cowwarr threw everything at the Wildcats in the last quarter, but Woodside defended its lead and found two crucial goals to secure a place on grand final day.
Michael O’Sullivan produced his best performance of the finals series, kicking five of Woodside’s seven goals and providing a dangerous target throughout the match.
Matty Sailor and Trent Askew also contributed important goals, while Alex Walpole stood tall under enormous pressure in defence.
Walpole was named Woodside’s best, ahead of Tanner Hall, O’Sullivan, Khyden Hanning and Braydn Wilson.
Braden Paulet, Daniel Websdale, Vincent O’Mara, Cooper Mitchell, Mathew Stoddart and Jai Foulkes were among Cowwarr’s best.
History beckons for Woodside
Woodside will now meet minor premier Heyfield in the reserves grand final, with the Wildcats aiming to claim their first premiership in the grade.
The club has twice finished runner-up in reserves grand finals but has never lifted the premiership cup, giving this year’s team an opportunity to create history.
Heyfield will enter the decider as favourite after defeating Woodside twice during the home-and-away season.
The Kangaroos dominated their first meeting, winning by 40 points, but the gap closed considerably when the teams met again, with Heyfield prevailing by only 10 points.
That improvement should give Woodside confidence heading into the grand final. The Wildcats side has continued to evolve during the season and has built momentum through three demanding finals victories.
Woodside has shown it can win in different ways. It overcame inaccurate kicking to defeat Glengarry in the elimination final, produced another strong performance to progress through the semi-final and then displayed composure under pressure against Cowwarr.
The Wildcats will need to match Heyfield around the contest and prevent the Kangaroos from gaining the fast start that proved decisive in their first encounter.
O’Sullivan shapes as a key figure after his five-goal preliminary-final performance, while Walpole and the Woodside defence will face an important assignment against Heyfield’s dangerous attack.
Captain-coach Luke Anedda, league reserves best-and-fairest winner Brayden Askew, Ricky Benis, Blake Reed, Cooper Roberts and Alex Jeffs will also be vital to Woodside’s chances.
Heyfield deserves favouritism following its unbeaten record against the Wildcats this season, but Woodside’s improvement, finals momentum and determination to end its premiership drought make this a much closer contest than their earlier results suggest.
After twice finishing second and never winning a reserves grand final, this could finally be Woodside’s year.
