Women’s Grand Final Preview v Claremont

It has been a stirring run for the Swan Districts WAFL Women’s team to reach Sunday’s grand final at Mineral Resources Park as they look to keep the roll going once more up against Claremont.

Swan Districts will take on Claremont in the WAFL Women’s grand final for 2025 on Sunday afternoon at Lathlain’s Mineral Resources Park with the game getting underway at 2:05pm.

The Swans will bring with them plenty of momentum into the grand final as well having won the last five games of the home and away season to end up in third position with a 12-4 record.

From there, Swan Districts defeated East Fremantle in the first semi-final thanks to kicking their only two goals of the game in the fourth quarter.

That took Swans into the preliminary final last Sunday at Sullivan Logistics Stadium. This time, the black-and-whites kicked four goals to nil in the first quarter and from there were able to hold on for the two-point victory.

Now the next challenge for the Swans is the Tigers in the grand final with Claremont playing in their fourth straight decider having won premierships in 2022 and 2024, and losing to East Fremantle in 2023.

So that’s a significant test for Swan Districts, but considering they come into the grand final with a seven-game winning streak they are riding the momentum that they will hope carries over one more game on Sunday.

Swan Districts ruck Lauren Quaife knows all about the grand final stage having won two premierships previously with Peel Thunder, but she has never been part of a team like this one.

“As corny as it sounds, we have each other. This is the most bonded, connected, in sync team we have had in my three years at Swans,” Quaife said.

“I’d do anything for those girls and that feeling is felt by every player. We’ll run harder, hit harder and get the hard balls because we know that each and every single player would do the same and it lifts us as a team.

“We started the year drawing what our season would look like and it all ended the same – with a premiership cup. We are hungry and we want it more than Claremont.

“Their only advantage is that they have played in grand finals before but I’d say the last three games we have played are going to be more stressful than this weekend and we have proved to ourselves week after week we can do it.

“I think people will see us as an underdog and we love to prove people wrong and use it as motivation.”

Sunday’s grand final is a first for Swan Districts in the WAFL Women’s competition since losing to Peel back in 2021 in Mandurah. Prior to that they also made it in 2019 only to lose to East Fremantle which also was held at Mineral Resources Park.

Going back further and to the previous WA Women’s Football League, Swan Districts were a powerhouse winning premierships in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017 while also reaching grand finals in 2008, 2010 and 2015.

Since Swan Districts last played in a grand final back in 2021, Claremont has now been there every time and the Tigers have won eight of the last nine meetings between the two teams.

Swan Districts did manage to beat Claremont in their second meeting of 2024 despite the Tigers going on to win the premiership.

The last time the teams met in a final was the 2022 preliminary final when Claremont beat Swan Districts by 18 points again on the way to a premiership triumph.