UGSFL: First week of finals as Cougars and Eagles put season on the line, Tigers and Warriors in second semi

The Upper Great Southern Football League finals start this weekend, with Kukerin-Dumbleyung and Boddington doing battle in the elimination final. The Cougars jumped the Eagles into third place in the final round of the regular season and the two will square off in a sudden death league first semifinal on Sunday in Pingelly. There has been little separating the two sides this season. The Cougars won their round one clash by a single point before the Eagles claimed the round eight encounter by nine points as Lewis Gillespie and Jarrod Cameron combined for nine goals. Cameron, a former West Coast Eagle, has been terrific in his debut season in the UGSFL to guide the Eagles to a top four finish and has kicked 17 goals in 13 games. However, he didn’t play last Sunday in the final round as the Eagles were thrashed by 91 points at the hands of Williams. Cameron looms as a key part of the Eagles’ bid to progress to next week’s preliminary final, as does Cougars star Eric Botha. Botha won the league’s goal kicking award after booting 11 in the final round and he has bagged four goals in both clashes with the Eagles this season. State representative and midfield star Justin Joyce is another player the Cougars will rely heavily on in the first semifinal, which starts at 2.30pm on Sunday. Top two league sides Wickepin and Katanning Wanderers will clash in the second semi-final in Boddington on Saturday. Both have a finals double chance and the winner of the highly-anticipated game will progress to the grand final in a fortnight. The Warriors have lost only one game during the regular season and beat the Tigers by 33 points in round three and 52 points in their most recent clash in round 10. They will be hoping to get star forward Matt Jukes back for the finals, who has kicked 40 goals in 10 games, but the former Swan Districts player has not featured for his side since round 11. State representative Callum Garcia and playmaker Jack O’Sullivan will be key players for the Warriors in their quest to reach the grand final. The Tigers will look to prolific goalkickers Dionne Woods and Josh Goodwin, while Mitchell Banks, James Laurino and Khallon Zilm are also vital to their chances. The second semifinal starts at 2.30pm on Saturday. In the other second semi-finals, the Cats and Narrogin will meet in the reserves, the Hawks and Wagin face off in thirds and in the fourths the Hawks and Tigers will do battle. On Saturday in the first semifinals, the Tigers and Brookton-Pingelly will square off in reserves and thirds while the Bulldogs and Cats meet in the fourths. Upper Great Southern Football League - Finals Fixtures Second Semifinal - Saturday, August 20 at Boddington League 2.30pm - Wickepin v Katanning Wanderers Reserves 12.30pm - Williams v Narrogin Thirds 11am - Narrogin v Wagin Fourths 9.30am - Narrogin v Katanning Wanderers First Semifinal - Sunday, August 21 at Pingelly League 2.30pm - Kukerin-Dumbleyung v Boddington Reserves 12.30pm - Katanning Wanderers v Brookton-Pingelly Thirds 11am - Katanning Wanderers v Brookton-Pingelly Fourths 9.30am - Wagin v Williams