Sport
16 December, 2025
Our top 25 sporting moments of 2025: 15-11
The year 2025 was a standout for the Wimmera and Mallee regions, highlighted by exceptional sporting achievements at the state, national, and global stages.
To capture these successes, Wimmera Mallee News sportswriters MACKENZIE BOOK, ZOEY ANDREWS, and BEN FRASER compiled a comprehensive list of the year's most significant sporting moments.
Their individual votes were tallied to create the definitive Top 25 list.
In this edition, we reveal the moments ranked 15 through 11.
Which monumental achievement do you think will ultimately secure the coveted number one spot?
15: Cody Bryan's goal after the siren denies Demons first win of season
Few things are better than the spectacle of the local football netball Horsham derby between the Demons and the Saints
This year’s round 11 Pelican Cup did not disappoint.
Playing at Coughlin Park, little separated the teams throughout the game, where a tense back-and-forth final term played out
Horsham, looking for its first senior football win of the 2025 season, took a four-point lead with minutes to go.
Enter Cody Bryan
The young forward marked the ball just inside 50 moments moments before the final siren echoed across the ground.
With the game on the line, Bryan calmly kicked his sixth and most important goal to secure a win that will go down in Saints folklore.
14: Southern Mallee Thunder defeat Ararat in football semi-final
In arguably the most talked about sporting event of the year, the Southern Mallee Thunder defeated Ararat 80-73 to earn themselves a spot in the Wimmera Football Netball League senior grand final.
Playing in front of a vocal crowd in Minyip, the Thunder got the better of the Rats in the first half and took a 22-point lead into the main break.
However, an eight-goal third quarter, spurred on by co-coach Tom Williamson, gave the Rats a 20-point lead heading into the final break.
During the opening bounce of the last quarter, Williamson received his second yellow card of the game and was sent off (he was later cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent tribunal).
A motivated Thunder group booted five majors in the last quarter to claim the vital win, while Ararat were forced to play in the preliminary final the following week.
13: Minyip Murtoa named AFL Community Club of the Year
Minyip Murtoa’s commitment to growth, primarily in junior and female participation, saw them take out the 2025 Toyota AFL Community Club of the Year award.
Helping them win the award was the establishment of an Auskick centre, the creation of a new playing surface for juniors and their role in helping start the Wimmera Football Netball League’s inaugural female football competition.
Minyip Murtoa’s club president Chris Delahunty said the achievement was a reward for years of hard work put in by the club and its committee.
"It's been a long road to get where we are, and it's great recognition for many years of hard work," he said.
"So they were all very excited at the club."
The club received funding from Sport and Recreation Victoria and the federal government to install new lights at the Minyip ground and new netball courts at Murtoa.
12: Lilly Weir finishes 13th at World Teenage CrossFit Games
Since starting CrossFit at the end of 2022, Lilly Weir has had a meteoric rise in the sport.
After a 17th-place finish worldwide in the semifinals of the Teenage CrossFit Games, Weir earned a spot in the US finals, held in August.
Already training twice a day, Weir said she upped her volume in preparation for the Games.
“After qualifying, I was training at least three times a day,” Weir said.
“I was doing a lot more volume than what I was doing beforehand.
“I had to ramp it up a bit to match the volume of what it would be like at the games.”
Competing in eight different workouts over four days, Weir finished 13th on the world stage.
Asked about returning to Horsham after the Games, the teenager said it was great to receive so much support, particularly from the crew at HCF Horsham CrossFit, where Weir started and continues her CrossFit training.
“Walking down the street was really cool,” Weir said.
“I go to school, and they'd all ask me how I went and congratulate me.
“It was really special to see everyone supporting me, especially the ones from CrossFit, they've been there since day one.”
11: Yanac goes undefeated to win 10th straight hockey premiership
Yanac continued its dominance in the Wimmera Hockey Association, winning its 10th straight open-division premiership.
Making the premiership feat even more impressive is the fact that the Tigers went through the season undefeated.
The Horsham Hurricanes did push Yanac most of the way in the grand final, with scores level 1-1 at three-quarter time.
But the experience and skill of Yanac proved too strong, with three final-quarter goals securing 10 straight premierships.
