MANLY Warringah Wolves won an absolute thriller against Parramatta Goannas to move within one victory of an AFL Sydney Women’s Grand Final spot after teenage forward Lauren Bull converted a set shot from 25m out on a 45-degree angle in the dying minutes of the match.

On a spectacularly nice weekend, where the only thing affecting the game was the wind, Manly and Parramatta put on an outstanding spectacle and very entertaining game that came right down to the last two minutes.

Having kicked the only goal of the last term thus far and moved within two points of the Goannas who had led throughout the contest, Manly found a way to win with a crucial match-winning set shot from Bull after she lead out and juggled a grab in front of her opponent.

The game turned out exactly as predicted with Parramatta coming out of the blocks and just destroying the centre square area with multiple clearances going forward. Caitlin Fletcher was unstoppable and almost won the Goannas the game in the first quarter.

Manly was not able to contain her early, and Fletcher did as she pleased through contests to be able to keep the ball moving in transition and find plenty of it herself through repeat efforts. The Goannas raced out to an 11-point lead at quarter time as young gun forward Lauren O’Sullivan went to work early and would kick three of her side’s five goals.

The Manly defensive players were simply outstanding in the first half and really did keep the Wolves in the game. After quarter time the tide began to turn for the Wolves and Parramatta’s slow second halves that have been an issue of late caught up with the Goannas. The Wolves were able to quell Fletcher to an extent, but also started getting on top around the ball.

Zara Hamilton started getting some running flow into the game and universally the Wolves started ramping up the the pressure. However, the key to the last quarter was the performance of Hannah Woolf. She put the team on her shoulders and was just in everything. Woolf worked the ball down the field to set up the winning goal.

After four quarters of tight action, the Wolves got their chance through Bull who got on the end of repeat opportunities and went back with a tough breeze and the match on her boot. As composed as possible, the youngster made no mistake, producing a perfect set shot and sending her team into the second qualifying final.

Overall, the Goannas would be very disappointed with the loss after being up for most of the contest, but could hold their heads high with a good performance and definitely showed they are right in this finals series.

Woolf and Hamilton were among the standout Manly players on the day, with Isabella Rudolph the sole multiple goalkicker with two majors, while Holly Wickham and Ashleigh Carter were also named in the best. O’Sullivan was named among the Goannas’ best for her three goals, with Fletcher, Cassie Brown and Zoe Clubb also impressive. Amanda Farrugia and Megan Mifsud each kicked a major too.

MANLY WARRINGAH WOLVES 1.1 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 5.5 (35)
PARRAMATTA GOANNAS 3.0 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.1 (31)

GOALS:
Manly Warringah: I. Rudolph 2, L. Bull, K. Fahey, H. Wickham
Parramatta: L. O’Sullivan 3, A. Farrugia, M. Mifsud

BEST:
Many Warringah: H. Wickham, A. Carter, H. Woolf, Z. Hamilton, J. Layton
Parramatta: C. Fletcher, C. Brown, Z. Clubb, A. Farrugia, L. O’Sullivan

The do-or-die elimination final provided a much more scrappy affair, with Sydney Uni doing everything possible to keep North Shore out of the game. The Students were able to minimise the Bombers’ strengths and in turn North Shore had no answers during the 17-point loss.

They only showed sporadic bursts of really nice football, and it just was not enough. Kendra Blattman was unstoppable and clearly best on ground, turning everything into forward momentum for the Students and not giving the Bombers any chance to surge the footy their way or get any evasion extraction handballs.

She was joined by fellow youngster Emma Juneja who stepped up and was involved in everything, especially around the contest. Saskia Johnson did a lot of the grunt work in defence, especially against the wind in the third quarter to keep the margin in the Students’ favour to kick with the breeze in the last quarter.

The Bombers were hampered by an early concussion injury to Elle Carroll who sat out the rest of the game, though the Students were even on top from early on. The wind made for a momentum-swinging day where the Students lead by 11 points at half-time, that was cut to five at the last change, before kicking away with the last two goals of the match to win, 6.6 (42) to 3.7 (25).

Lucy Yates tried hard all day and Teigan Collister proved a handful for the Students with Zoe Hurrell another Bomber who did her best working hard across half-back. Serena Lienert got on the end of a couple of goals up forward for North Shore, but in the end, the Students proved too good and kept their premiership hopes alive.

Sydney Uni moves on to face Parramatta next week, but will need to be careful about extracting the ball from the contest backwards as it nearly built momentum through field position for the opposition, something that the Goannas will take advantage of in the semi-final on Sunday.

NORTH SHORE BOMBERS 1.1 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 3.7 (25)
SYDNEY UNIVERSITY 2.1 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 6.6 (42)

GOALS:
North Shore: S. Lienert 2, S. Smith
Sydney Uni: E. Gelsomino, L. Gilfedder, E. Juneja, J. Smith, S. Tutt, E. Van Den Borne

BEST:
North Shore: E. Bliss, L. Yates, G. Maher, S. Lienert, Z. Hurrell
Sydney Uni: E. Juneja, K. Blattman, A. Dribbus, E. Van Den Borne, D. George