By Brendan Day
Sydney University will look to finish the season with a victory when they meet the Balmain Dockers in the Army AFL Sydney Women’s Division One Grand Final this Saturday September 14.
The game will mark the first time the women’s grand final has been combined with men’s grand finals – the AFL Sydney Men’s Division Two, Three and Four Grand Finals are also being played this Saturday at the Blacktown International Sportspark.
Sydney University have enjoyed a successful 2013 season, losing just two matches and conceding 237 points in 14 games on their way to the minor premiership. This year’s team has a diversely skilled roster, with new players coming from a variety of sports including touch footy, rugby, Gaelic football and basketball.
First-year coach Yucel Celenk believes this potent mix of athletic rookies and talented veterans has Sydney University on course for the 2013 Premiership.
“We’ve got seven girls in the team who had never played AFL before this year, and they’re all big contributors to our success,” he said.
“With our mix of experience and youth, we’ve really developed a successful team this season.”
“We’ve prepared very well for the game and the girls are quite keen for it.
“I think it’s going to be a good contest, and we’re quietly confident that we can achieve the double, so to speak.”
Celenk, who previously had only coached soccer, initially became involved with the University side as a spectator. “I knew some of the girls who played in the team, and they invited me to watch their game one day,” he said.
“I’m a diehard soccer fan, but I had watched AFL on television before becoming the coach.
“When I took on the job, I just went and really researched all I could about AFL.”
The Balmain Dockers went undefeated throughout the 2012 season, culminating in a Grand Final victory over a gallant University side. 2013 has proved to be more difficult, with the Dockers losing five matches throughout the regular season. One of these losses was a 7.12.54 to 0.0.0 thrashing in Round 11 at the hands of University.
“A combination of injuries and overseas trips” is how their coach, Tracey Kick, explains Balmain’s less-than-stellar performance in Round 11. “We had a fairly understrength team for that week, and Sydney Uni just played some great footy,” she said.
“We had a bit of difficulty in the middle of the season with player numbers, but everyone’s back now and we’re quite buoyed by that.
“The girls are feeling great – we trained last night, and the vibe in the team was really strong, with everyone feeling ready for the Grand Final.”
Balmain finished third on the table and upset the UNSW/ES Stingrays 5.2.32 to 2.8.20 in the preliminary final. Spearhead Belinda Pride – the first woman to kick 100 goals in an AFL season, having done so in 2012 – booted two goals in the match to help the Dockers secure their place in the Grand Final.
Besides coaching the Dockers, the aptly-named Kick is also in charge of the NSW Women’s representative side. Five members of the Sydney University team were in this squad, giving Kick a rare inside look at the opposition.
“I think that whenever you can learn a little bit about opposition players, regardless of how you get that knowledge, it’s helpful,” Kick said.
“The advantage also can go their way, though – they probably mostly know how I’m going to coach the game, because they’ve been coached by me.”
Kick believes that sharing a Grand Final day with men’s competitions will provide a good promotional opportunity for women’s football.
“I think it will be great to showcase women’s footy, especially if the standard of play is anything like the game last week against the Stingrays,” she said.
“If we can turn that on again this week, both teams, I think that some of the guys who may have not seen women’s footy will be surprised and impressed.
“I think it’s great that the AFL is integrating men’s and women’s grand finals.”
The Army AFL Sydney Women’s Division One Grand Final starts at 1:15pm at the Blacktown International Sportspark, and will be followed by the Men’s Division 2 Grand Final between Sydney University and Manly Warringah Wolves.
Last Modified on 11/09/2013 13:57
