Country Championships: Great Southern unbeaten, meet Upper Great Southern again in division two grand final

Great Southern and Upper Great Southern will square off in an exciting grand final after a pulsating day of division two games at Fremantle Community Bank Oval on Saturday. In what has been a brilliant campaign at the Nutrien Ag Solutions Country Football Championships, Great Southern won both their matches on day two of the senior competition to finish unbeaten across the qualifying games. They will face a dangerous Upper Great Southern outfit, who recovered from an first-up loss to Great Southern, to win their next three matches and reach the decider. Division two came down to the final qualifying match with Central Midlands Coastal unbeaten and up against Upper Great Southern, who were strengthened by a couple of handy inclusions on day two. Upper Great Southern trailed at half-time of their virtual knockout game with Central Midlands Coastal but Upper Great Southern booted three quick majors and five in the last half to storm over the top and knock their rivals out of the top two. Earlier Great Southern, who finished top of the standings, thumped North Pilbara by 53 points before prevailing in a physical encounter with Ongerup by 22 points. Five goals in the second half guided Great Southern to a 9.7 (61) to 1.2 (8) victory over North Pilbara as Brett Peake booted three goals. Darcy Clarke (two goals) and Isaac Baum (two) were also strong contributors while Morgan Davies was terrific off half back. In the first clash between the pair since 2017, Great Southern and Ongerup squared off and it was the run and spread from Great Southern that proved the difference in the end. Davies was outstanding, receiving the Jim Hull Medal as the fairest and best player in games between the two sides at representative level, as Great Southern kicked three majors in each half to claim the 6.2 (38) to 2.4 (16) result. Relishing his role in defence, Davies produced a wonderful running goal that helped snuff out any Ongerup comeback in the last half before Camball McMahon sealed their fourth straight victory. Ryley Valli and Darcy Wallinger were vital contributors and Robbie Lee was also busy for the winners. Lewis Davis stepped up with two goals for Ongerup while midfielders Justin Joyce and Nic Winters won plenty of the ball. Upper Great Southern got over the line against Central Midlands Coastal after two goals from Ryan Melvin while Tom Kilpatrick (one goal), Jordan Heil, Byron Blevin and Dion Anthony all impressed. In their first game on Saturday, Upper Great Southern downed Eastern Districts by 25 points as they finished strongly with inclusion Anthony playing a crucial role and kicking a goal. Ongerup avoided finishing last and being relegated from the division after a gritty six-point win over North Pilbara. North Pilbara controlled the game for large parts but Ongerup produced a slick final 10 minutes, dominating centre clearances and finally getting the reward on the scoreboard. Ongerup kicked the final three goals of the game to pinch the game 5.2 (32) to 3.8 (26) and secure their first win of the championships. The sour point was losing star key position player Timm House to a hamstring injury but Connor Smallwood kicked the winner in the dying stages. In what was arguably the game of the day, Central Midlands Coastal beat Eastern Districts by a single point. Lukas Jones put Central Midlands Coastal up inside the final two minutes but Eastern Districts kept coming, Sebastian Omodei (three goals) getting his side within a point inside the final 40 seconds but the siren sounded before any meaningful possession in the centre clearance. Great Southern and Upper Great Southern, who were separated by just two points on Friday, will face off for the title at Sullivan Logistics Stadium at 11.15am on Sunday.