Football
25 August, 2025
Warriors forge onto Elimination Final
In the final game of the Wimmera Football Netball League's regular season, the Warriors secured a dominant victory over the Eagles, defeating them 16.14 (110) to 10.4 (64).
Prior to the match, the Warriors confirmed that co-coaches James Sullivan and Perry Meka will return to lead the team for the 2026 season.
Buoyed by the news, the side recorded a victory and sealed fourth place on the ladder, meaning they will play Dimboola next week in the Elimination Final.
The Eagles' season is now over, with an eighth-placed finish for the year.
In the final game of the regular season, the Eagles got off to a slow start, down by 32 points at the end of the first quarter.
That gap ballooned out to more than 50 points at halftime, before Warrack lessened the margin slightly, to 32, going into the final quarter.
But the Warriors added 4.4 to their score in the final term, compared to the Eagles' 2.2, which equated to the 46-point victory.
For Stawell, Paul Summers was back to his best, with six majors, while Harry Grintell and Josh Fowkes were two of their best players.
For the losing side, Lachie Stewart and Sam Hanna were the better players, while Kyle Cheney found the big sticks four times.
Stawell president Shane Field was happy with his side's win, saying they played good footy, particularly up until half time.
"Warrack got a bit of a run on in the third, kicking three or four goals in a row, but then we stemmed the bleeding and went from there," he said.
"We moved the ball well and were happy with how we played."
Field said it would give the side confidence heading into the first week of finals.
"We were trialling a few things, just for the lead up into finals, what we are going to try this weekend," he revealed.
The president said he was impressed by the efforts of Josh Fowkes in the ruck on Saturday.
"We had a VFL player, Harry Grintell, play on Saturday, and he was good," Field said, adding he put good pressure on the ball.
"But no one played badly, everyone did their thing, which is what it is all about, everyone playing their role, and the team will be successful from there."