It will be a clash of the titans in the Armidale Women’s Premier League grand final today when Norths United White challenge Armidale City Westside at Phil Wheaton Oval from 11am.
These two teams have been clear standouts all season since the opening night back in April when they won their round one matches a combined 27-0.
Norths went on to claim the minor premiership following an undefeated campaign, scoring 111 goals and only conceding six.
Armidale City Westside ended up falling 10 points short of Norths. The defending champions scored 66 goals across their games and only conceded 15.
The two top-ranked sides met four times during the regular season. Their first encounter finished locked at 0-0 in round five in May before they contested a 2-2 draw in round eight a month later. Norths then won the next two meetings in August as they prevailed 3-1 in round 11 and 2-0 in round 14.
They met for a fifth time in week one of the finals series earlier this month and Norths made it three on the trot as they outscored Westside 3-1 in the major semi-final to advance to grand final day.
Westside then took on minor semi-final winners South Armidale United Stars in the preliminary final on Tuesday night and cruised into the grand final with a 5-1 victory.
Today’s decider is expected to be a tight affair between the two standout sides in the competition this year. They are both quality defensive outfits, so taking chances at the other end of the pitch is going to be as important as ever.
Norths’ club president and team striker Hailey Cameron said that after missing out on the grand final last year, her side made it their goal to get to the big dance and win it in 2024, and they are certainly on track to achieving that.
“I think that we’ve had a stellar season,” Cameron said.
“We went into this year with a really clear goal to secure the grand final place and hopefully the whole premiership. So far, we’re achieving what we set out to do. We haven’t had any luck in the last few years to take out a grand final, so that’s been our aim.
“I think, overall, our team has worked well to find feet and talk and really get the communication happening. Those have been our biggest strengths this year.
“Westside are a very strong team and I think it’s going to be a very tough game. They have a really good defensive team, like us. It could easily go either way.”
Armidale City Westside’s coach Kate Eldering is also expecting a tough, close game, given the competitive nature of all five matches the two sides have played against one another this season.
“We played really well on Tuesday (in the preliminary final). It was a brilliant team performance from forwards to fullbacks, and we dominated across the park and stuck to the game plan,” Eldering said.
“We’re expecting a tight, close game against Norths. It usually is between us. They are a good team, a tough team, the team everyone has had to chase this year.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s only one goal difference in it.
“We’ve got a pretty solid defence, midfield and forward pack, and so do they. When we meet it’s just close. We’ve been playing against each other for a couple of years now, so we know their game plan but they also know ours.
“We don’t need to change our game plan too much. We need to just stick with it.”