CENTRAL MURRAY FOOTBALL NETBALL LEAGUE
GRAND FINAL SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
ALAN GARDEN RESERVE – COURT 1
3.00PM SWAN HILL v BALRANALD
KEY PLAYER
SWAN HILL
Madeleine Nalder
Fresh off winning the league’s A Grade Best & Fairest on Sunday night alongside Jess Parry, Nalder is one of the competitions best players – and has been for over a decade. Will have the task of trying to stop the rampant Roo’s from piling on the goals, with her match-up against Ella Mirtschin sure to be a match defining one.
BALRANALD
Jess Parry
The Balranald coach is capable of turning a game with a withering 10-minute burst – as evidenced by her winning the A Grade league Best & Fairest on Sunday evening for the second year running. Will need to be at her best, but rarely plays a bad game and will be the player who will take up most of the Swans pre-match planning.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Have met twice this year, with Swan Hill claiming victory both times – by four goals in round 6 and then by 14 goals in round 16.
KEY MATCH-UP
Zoe O’Sullivan v Bonnie Jolliffe
Both teams rely heavily on run through the mid-court, and O’Sullivan and Jolliffe are sure to have a big say on that element of the match in the centre. O’Sullivan is often the firestarter for the Swans and gets momentum going their way, while Jolliffe has been instrumental for Balranald in their semi final and preliminary final wins.
MATCH PREVIEW
BALRANALD will be out to create their own slice of history tomorrow afternoon when they play Swan Hill in this years CMFNL A Grade grand final.
It’s been a long time since Balranald’s A Grade were one of the last two teams standing – so long in fact that it was before their time in the Mid-Murray Football Netball League, let alone the Central Murray.
Swan Hill, on the other hand, are well-acquainted with grand final day, having played in the last decider in 2019 against Woorinen – and last taking home the silverware in 2014.
Tomorrow is a whole new day for the Swans, however, with a sea of blue and white expected to descend on the Alan Garden courts prior to 3pm tomorrow – with the entire township set to gather behind the Roo’s effort...
