Country Championships: Avon claim breakthrough division 1 title after knocking off South West in decider

Avon Football Association broke a 21-year title drought after claiming a thrilling division 1 grand final by 12 points at the Nutrien Ag Solutions Country Football Championships in Perth on Sunday. Avon last tasted division one success in 2002 and they had to overcome powerhouse outfit South West Football League, who had won seven of the last 10 titles, in the decider at Fremantle Community Bank Oval. South West finished on top of the standings with three wins from four qualifying games, including a 20-point triumph over their grand final rival. A brilliant five-goal to nil first half set up the drought-breaking Avon victory, as they withstood a strong late charge from the 2022 champions South West. Former Perth forward Matt Rogers kicked the opening goal of the division one grand final as Avon took a 20-point advantage into quarter-time. Avon extended that margin to 35 points by half-time after a terrific snap from star ball winner Andrew Fisher and then a long-range conversion from Kaidyn Fullgrabe. South West were surprisingly held goalless in the first half but hard-running midfielder Kade Szyszka finally broke the drought in the fourth minute of the third term. In the space of 11 minutes South West piled on four unanswered goals to trim the deficit to nine points by three-quarter-time. South West had a couple of early chances and they were left to rue a couple of costly misses, including two shots on goal that hit the post. However, with the game on the line and Avon leading by six points in the final two minutes, Avon’s Ryan Mawer won a free kick after a terrific rundown tackle on South West’s Zavier Williams. Mawer went back and kicked the sealer, sparking the celebrations for Avon as they finished winners 6.7 (43) to 4.7 (31). Midfield star Fullgrabe won the medal for best on ground, his classy display around stoppages in the heavy conditions spurring Avon in the boilover result. Rogers booted two goals up front in a telling performance while Fisher, Jamison Ugle, Ethan Brown and Marshall Jones were also strong contributors. South West were best served by Szyszka and Shaun Crane in the middle while Mitchell Tenadri, Ben Horsman, Zac Trigwell and Zac Pethybridge also tried hard in defeat. Chris White, Taine Williams and Kelvin Lawrence kicked the third quarter goals along with Szyszka. Earlier in the day Goldfields withstood a strong last quarter challenge from Great Northern to win the division 2 grand final by 15 points. Goldfields won all four of their qualifying games and started superbly in the decider to lead by 27 points at half-time. That margin was extended to 35 points by the last break but Great Northern stormed home with four goals in the final quarter. Goldfields held firm, however, as they prevailed 9.8 (62) to 7.5 (47) and win their first division 2 title since 2018 with Great Northern’s Jayden Schofield named best on ground in the losing affair. Bailey Taylor, Jordan Delbridge, Jacob Oakes, Gerard Ugle and Jake Nuich were outstanding for the winners. Jayden and Kim Schofield led the way for Great Northern but Geelong legend Harry Taylor, who played as a key forward for the side, went down with injury before half-time. In the division 3 grand final, North Pilbara started strongly and went on to beat Esperance by 28 points. Jordan Bucolo won the medal for best on ground and Guy Langdon booted three goals in the 11.7 (73) to 7.3 (45) triumph. On Saturday the colts division of the championships wrapped up at Sir Ross McLarty Oval in Pinjarra with South West reclaiming the title after an epic one-point win. South West were colts champions from 2016-19 before Peel won the last two editions of the carnival in 2021 and 2022. Seann Arrowsmith and Tom Harris kicked the majors for South West while teammate Peter Woods won the Kim ‘Freddy’ Curnow Award for best on ground in the grand final. Great Northern kicked five behinds in the second half but fell short, 2.6 (18) to 2.7 (19).