WYNDHAM was able to take game one of the Big V Women’s grand final series last weekend against the Bulleen Boomers, and will be now aiming to finish the job when the two sides hit the court for game two on Saturday, and potentially game three on Sunday.

Game two (and three, if required) will take place at Eagle Stadium, with Wyndham now holding home court advantage to close out the series. Regardless of the result of game number two, the competition will have a new champion, and how fitting it is that it will be one of the two best sides for the entirety of the 2022 season.

Wyndham vs. Bulleen Boomers
Game two – Saturday, August 27 @ 7pm
Eagle Stadium

It was a stellar game one showing from Wyndham, who shocked the competition with a terrific third quarter showing that ended up leading to an eight-point triumph and a 1-0 lead in the grand final series.

Speaking to Rookie Me Central, Wyndham coach Billy Akalo said the result was hard fought after a low-scoring first half.

“The game was scrappy, and while it was great to get that win, it was hard-earnt,” Akalo said.

“The game on Saturday is going to be hard too, but having that home court advantage brings that comfortability, and that sense of calmness. At the same time, with the game coming up and the implications of that, it will be tense. “We’ll just stick to what we do best and try not to reinvent the wheel.”

Wyndham’s style has been different, but Akalo says that it has been a positive for the team in many ways.

“We’ve built a style of play that is pretty unique within the league, but we feel like with how we’re playing on both sides of the ball, that is going to be a big separating part,” Akalo said. “Our defence was a big factor in the game on Saturday, and hopefully we can match it with our offence on the weekend. “We’ll just make the necessary changes from there.”

Wyndham struck in a big way in the third quarter last weekend, and that was set up by some encouraging messaging from the coaches and some handy adjustments.

“We just said it’s the premiership quarter, and we just need to go for it. There was a bit of changing with the matchups, not even necessarily by design, but we just stuck with it,” Akalo said. “There were also some players that stepped up, including the likes of Rachel Kerr, who was certainly a catalyst in our defence and our ball pressure and helped boost our points from turnovers. We rode that momentum from our defence and it seeped into our offence.”

With the opportunity to finish the job and win it all available on Saturday, Akalo said the team will still look to remain motivated and determined, despite having a game up their sleeve.

“We don’t want to get complacent,” Akalo said. “The messaging will probably lean towards getting it done. We’re not in the business of playing around and taking the foot off the pedal. We are going to go after it.”