Powerhouses Seeking Premiership Glory
18 Sep, 2008
The 2008 West Australian Amateur Football League season comes to a close this weekend with the two heavyweights of the A Grade competition facing off in what will be a classic grand final encounter.
North Beach and North Fremantle will meet Saturday at Medibank Stadium in a match pitting the two most impressive teams of the season against each other.
North Fremantle finished on top of the ladder with 15 wins and three losses, three games clear of third placed North Beach, however both teams have recorded wins over the other in the regular season.
Their encounter in round seven at Charles Riley Reserve saw North Fremantle hand North Beach one of only two home losses during the season, beating the Tigers by 69 points.
The next time the two teams met in round 16, it was North Beach who got the upper hand, winning by 13 points in North Fremantle’s only loss at Gil Fraser Reserve this year.
North Beach are coming into this Saturday having played all three weeks of finals with wins against Wesley Curtin in the qualifying and preliminary finals, and a loss to North Fremantle in the second semi.
North Fremantle have only played one final this year, beating North Beach 14.15 (99) to 9.4 (58) in the second semi final two weeks ago.
Last week’s preliminary final saw North Beach comfortably record a win against Wesley Curtin 20.9 (129) to 9.11 (65) to advance to the grand final.
Both teams have tasted premiership glory before, with North Beach having won the Sandover Shield ten times and North Fremantle eight, winning their first in 1941.
North Fremantle is chasing their first premiership since 2003, while North Beach is looking to make history with their fifth consecutive A grade premiership, having won last year for the seventh time in the nine years.?
Last season’s premiership saw North Beach join Wembley and Mt Lawley as the only WAAFL clubs to have won four consecutive A Grade premierships.
The 2008 WAAFL Grand Final between North Fremantle and North Beach kicks off this Saturday 2.30pm at Medibank Stadium.
