A REIGNING champion and first-season wonder are the two teams remaining in the race for the 2025 QAFL Women’s premiership. Southport has beaten all before it bar one torrential downpour day, while for Morningside, only the Hornets and Sharks have posed a problem this season with the Panthers incredibly reaching the last match in their debut year.

NEED TO KNOW

Date: Sunday, September 7
Time: 2:30pm
Venue: Brighton Homes Arena

2025 HEAD-TO-HEAD:

Southport: 2
Morningside: 0

Round 16: Morningside 2.2 (14) def. by Southport 10.7 (67)
Semi-Final: Southport 14.16 (100) def. Morningside 3.3 (21)

LAST TIME THEY MET

It was just a fortnight ago that the Sharks put the Panthers to the sword, booting six goals to two in the first half, then piled on eight goals to one in the second half, including the last five goals of the match. Dekota Baron (four goals), Caitlin Miller (three) and Hannah Davies (three) were all sensational, with Georja Davies and Kierra Zerafa named Southport’s best. Sienna Graham tried hard for the visitors, booting all three of her team’s goals.

TEAMS

Southport:

#1 Megan Hunt
#2 Rianna Schipp (c)
#3 Maddy Baldwin
#4 Hannah Davies
#7 Steph O’Brien
#10 Tearnie Brown
#11 Leigh Alder
#12 Sunny Lappin
#13 Mikayla Nurse
#14 Madeleine Watt
#15 Dekota Baron
#18 Lily McDonald
#19 Maighan Fogas
#21 Kierra Zerafa
#24 Tyla Crabtree
#27 Georja Davies
#28 Caitlin Miller
#29 Emma Suckling
#36 Olivia Meagher
#44 Melita Watts
#46 Rhianna Ingram

Morningside:

#3 Greta Liell-Cook
#5 Lucy McCormick
#6 Courtney McDonnell (c)
#10 Isabella Levine
#15 Sienna Graham
#17 Gracie Roy
#23 Kylie Lawrence
#24 Laura Roy
#25 Teresa Dixon
#28 Ally Blyton
#30 Mackenzie Sleep
#32 Lucy Bellinger
#34 Stella Scott
#35 Neva Bell
#39 Ella Gibson
#42 Madalyn Hennessy
#44 Zoe Petrides
#46 Harlee McIlwain
#53 Tiffany O’Keeffe
#54 Simone Arthur
#58 Annabel Peacock

AFLW DRAFT PROSPECTS

It is hard to ignore that Southport has a stack of likely first round – including top 10 – draft prospects to go with some others who are also in the mix. Davies and Baron are two who strike a formidable pose, with their athleticism and aerial ability hard to match. Expect them to be in for big games given their experience in the past, while the one-two combination of Sunny Lappin and Mikayla Nurse is outstanding.

Lappin has had a year to remember, winning Queensland’s MVP at the AFLW Under 18 National Championships as well as securing All-Australian honours. Her partner in crime, Nurse can similarly provide important run, with her skill and smarts on the outside valuable to any team. Then there’s the reliable defensive counterpunch of Rhianna Ingram who earned a National Draft Combine invite off the back of consistent performances all year.

For the Panthers, they have a number of promising bottom-age talents which suggests next year will also be a good year for Morningside. Athletic tall forward Harlee McIlwain and her Queensland teammate Zoe Petrides are damaging inside 50, while Stella Scott adds link-up work through the middle, and Ella Gibson will likely have a big job behind the ball.

PREDICTION

Southport simply looks too strong, and the Sharks genuinely would have a case to be the strongest state league side in the country. While that is unable to be proven to a fact, they can certainly go a long way to establishing a legacy here by winning a second consecutive flag. Southport by 25 points.