Sharks achingly close after incredible fight back

East Fremantle Women’s League team has gone down in the WAWFL Grand Final by a mere 8 points, after a nail-biting final quarter saw them boot four unanswered goals.

The Swans were dominant throughout the field early on, making it hard for the Sharks to compete, but they certainly weren’t going down without a fight.

A strong breeze helped Swans to dominate the first quarter, kicking 4 answered goals to lead by 24 at the first break. The Sharks were unable to capitalise on the same advantage in the second, but kept the Swans to 2 additional goals. 

The third quarter was an arm wrestle, with both teams scoring 1-a-piece, including Jess Wuetschner kicking the Sharks first goal. 

From the first bounce in the fourth it was clear the Sharks were determined to play the same level of footy that had earned them a spot in the grand final.

GWS marquee player Emma Swanson kick-started the Sharks come back, nailing a goal from a free kick within the first minute and a half of the final quarter.

The second goal came just minutes later, with the team working hard to move the ball swiftly in the forward 50.  Ruby Schleicher took a fantastic mark and finished with an even better long range goal to ignite the Sharks supporters into song.

The Swans, who had worked hard to control the early stages of the game, became agitated and their frustration began to show.

Swanson came through for her second, emerging from the back of the pack to snap a perfect goal, helping the Sharks to get within 17 points of the Swans after five minutes of the final quarter.

The Swans worked hard to put an end to the Sharks surge, with East’s next scoring shot coming almost ten minutes later. Mel Caulfield kept the possibility of a win alive booting a set shot to get the margin within 11 points.

With just five minutes left, the desperation was real, but the Sharks could only manage three points to fall short by 8 points.

The Swans utilized the clock, doing their best to hold out against any Sharks scoring shots.

While it wasn’t the outcome the Sharks were after, it was certainly a performance worthy of a Grand Final.