SWFL 2022: Five burning questions ahead of Sunday’s grand final

SWFL grand final day always has tongues wagging in the lead up to a big game, especially when two quality teams like Augusta-Margaret River and South Bunbury lock horns. Ahead of the big game, Justin Fris outlines his five burning questions ahead of Sunday’s blockbuster at Hands Oval. Q1) Have South Bunbury played themselves back into some form? The Tigers trailed by four points at half-time during last Sunday’s preliminary final against the Harvey Bulls, but you would not have known it, given by how they responded in the third term. Booting six goals in 16 minutes (seven for the quarter) is no mean feat at any level of football, especially given the high stakes involved for South. While the Tigers have won two of their past three finals, their second half on Sunday was easily their best passage of play over the past month — and one which will likely have the Hawks on red alert. Q2) Will Jordan Strahan be able to cut loose against the seasoned Augusta-Margaret River defence? South Bunbury coach Julian Burgess has a lot of faith in superboot Strahan, who has been very reliable all season up forward. A player worth the price of admission alone, Strahan has been quieter than usual in his last two outings against the Hawks, who have refused to give him an inch defensively. Is Sunday the day when he is able to break the shackles and dominate in front of his adoring fans? Q3) What have both sides taken out of the second semifinal at Gloucester Park? Although the Hawks’ winning margin in the second semifinal was 20 points, they were more dominant than the margin suggests. By keeping their shape and not allowing the Tigers to move the ball freely, South had to labour intensively in a bid to generate scoreboard pressure — something which has been almost unheard of this season. Despite having chief spearhead Tim Noakes playing out of the goalsquare, Hawks forwards such as Beau Morgan and Harry Taylor added plenty of “X-factor” in the performance. Although South were not blown away earlier this month, they did not seriously look like stealing the game away, so it will be interesting to see how both players and coaches put this recent experience into practice. Q4) Will there be any hard-luck stories on the day? Aside from playing in or witnessing a losing grand final for your club, the other sad element of grand final day is learning a player has been left out of the team. Both the Tigers and Hawks are also involved in the reserves grand final, which has increased the chances of most senior players being able to take their place on the biggest stage of all. However every year, due to the nature of community sport, there is almost always one player who slips through the net, whether it is due to injury, suspension, work commitments or team balance. Q5) What will be the prevailing emotion post-game of the eventual premier? South Bunbury’s season on and off the field this year has been widely documented. However for the Tigers players, they’ve aimed to do their best every week on the ground and play the brand of football asked of them by Burgess. You can imagine aside from the usual joy on display, there will be tinges of relief and satisfaction, especially for the players and dedicated Tigers supporters. For the Hawks, who are heading into Sunday as reigning premiers, a chance to defend their crown is too good of an opportunity to pass up — with hundreds of wellwishers from the Capes community likely to be on hand to celebrate should they get the victory.