GSFLW 2023: Royals chasing third GSFLW premiership, Albany out to create history in grand final showdown

Royals will be out to become the first team to win three Great Southern Football League Women’s premierships when they face Albany in the grand final on Friday night. Since the competition’s inception in 2018, the Lions have claimed glory on two occasions, defeating Railways in 2019 and again in 2021. On the flip side, the Sharks’ place in Friday’s highly anticipated derby clash will be uncharted territory and the young side will have to defy long odds if they are to lift the coveted premiership cup for the first time. The Lions head into the decider undefeated in 2023, having secured maximum points across the entirety of the home-and-away season, and then claimed a nine-point semifinal win over Denmark-Walpole last week. A big crowd is expected at Retravision Stadium on Friday night as the two co-tenants lock horns for the maiden GSFLW title. Sharks captain Abbey Ballard is embracing her side’s underdog status. “I don’t think many people expected us to be in the grand final but we’re here and planning to play it as if it was any other game,” Ballard said. “I think our aim will be to get it straight out of midfield, we do have a very strong midfield group with some younger girls and some that have been here a little bit longer. “Ideally we get it straight into the forward line but we’ll see what the first 15 minutes of the game brings us and adjust from there. “We have a great team and we’ll give it the best we’ve got.” Ballard said a win in Sharks colours would carry extra significance for her teammates and the club. “I’ve been playing for Sharks for the past five years and this is our first grand final, it would be incredible to win with this side,” she said. “It’s amazing that we are actually in the grand final so we’ll put our best effort into winning, it’s going to be great. “The men have started their season really strongly and it would be great for us to finish it off by winning a grand final and hopefully they can as well later this year. “It’s great that it’s a home game for two teams that share a ground, we both get to be at home and play on our own field which is exciting.” In their head-to-head record, Lions were nine-point winners in round four and 25-point victors in their most recent encounter in round nine. Lions star ball-winner Taylah Orzel said she and her teammates would not take their opposition lightly in the biggest game of their season. “There is definitely extra pressure especially being undefeated going into finals, we know anything can happen,” she said. “We’ll just be looking to play our game, relax, breathe and put everything we’ve been training for into the game. “There is a strong core for the Sharks so the coaches are on to who to look out for. “If we need any taggers or anything like that we’ll listen to the coach but we will still play our game. “We’ve been playing really good footy the last couple of weeks so if we keep it up, we’ll be fine.” Orzel said she was confident the Lions would field a strong line-up ahead of Friday. “For us it’s definitely a team game, we can’t rely on a few core people so if everyone’s good from the get-go we’ll have a strong chance,” she said. “It’s great to have two different sides in the grand final, it changes every year pretty much and that’s awesome to see in women’s footy. The grand final starts at 6.45pm at Retravision Stadium.