Slow start against Peel proves costly as Upper Great Southern narrowly miss out on grand final spot at champs

A narrow loss to Peel in their final qualifying game ended Upper Great Southern Football League’s bid to reach another grand final at the Nutrien Ag Solutions Country Football Championships. Uppers entered the 2022 championships as defending champions but missed out on a grand final berth by percentage, winning two of their four games in division one. Eventual champions South West stormed home over the top of Uppers in the first game of the carnival at Fremantle Community Bank Oval on Friday. Uppers led early in the contest but South West were five-point winners at the finish despite two majors by key forward Lloyd Padwick. Talan Michael, Matthew White, Callum Garcia and Padwick were strong performers but Uppers lost 4.1 (25) to 4.6 (30). Uppers responded strongly in their second game on Friday to keep their title hopes alive, downing a persistent Goldfields by six points. Addison Dew finished with two majors, while goals to Kye Barker, Jarrod Cameron, Justin Joyce and James Laurino helped Uppers prevail 6.2 (38) to 5.2 (32). Their best players were Michael, Laurino, defender Byron Blevin and Garcia. On the second day, Uppers faced Avon at Mineral Resources Park, Lathlain, and first half goals from Padwick and Cameron set up a thrilling three-point win. Uppers led by three points at half-time and Cameron jailed a second major early in the last half to extend their advantage. Avon’s Matt Rogers kicked his second late in the game to bring it back to five points and his side kept coming, peppering their forward 50 late in the game, but the Uppers’ defence led by Blevin held firm. Blevin was outstanding along with Michael and Jack O’Sullivan, while Garcia again won plenty of the ball as Uppers got over the line 3.4 (22) to 2.7 (19). Uppers faced Peel in their last regular game and a win would have got them into the decider. Peel started strongly in the match, kicking three goals in the first half to jump Uppers. Uppers trailed by 19 points at half-time, and despite kicking two goals to one in the last half, they fell 13 points short. Cameron and Padwick kicked goals but the pair also missed other shots as they went down 2.4 (16) to 4.5 (29). Key defender Deklan Georgy, Laurino, Simon Panizza and O’Sullivan were strong contributors. South West were unbeaten in the four games while the other grand final spot came down to three teams, all with eight points. Avon had a superior percentage of 104.84 to edge out Uppers (91.82) and Peel (88.81). Uppers coach Gerard Medlen was proud of his players for their carnival but said their slow start against Peel was the deciding factor. “Peel jumped us with three goals,” Medlen said. “In games of 20-minute halves, that takes some catching up. “We didn’t capitalise on our opportunities against Peel. “I was really happy with the results and the efforts the boys put in. We got within five points of South West and missed out on the grand final by percentage.” South West finished dominant 94-point winners over Avon to claim the division one title at the WACA on Sunday.