Grand Final excitement hits the North West

AFL North West will celebrate the first Grand Final of the 2022 season on Sunday when the Junior Competition reaches its culmination.

The first match of the day will be in the Under 17 age group between the Celtic Saints and the Tamworth Roosters at 11:00am. This will be followed by the Under 14 Grand Final at 1:00pm between the Inverell Saints and Tamworth Roosters.

Both matches are being played at Varley Oval, Inverell.

Paul Taylor, Community Football Manager, said that this will be a historic event in the time since the AFL North West competition was reinstated in 1997.

“This is the first time the Junior Competition has had its own stand alone showpiece event and it’s really exciting that we’re able to give our talented youngsters the chance to be the focal point of a Grand Final day,” Taylor said.

“After the challenges of 2021 where the competition was shut down by COVID ahead of the Finals Series, it’s going to be a real boost to the players, the competition, and the sport to get a proper conclusion to the Junior season.”

The season has been somewhat disjointed for the Under 17 age group but the stage is set for a big finish between the Celtic Saints and Tamworth Roosters. Irrespective of the result, the match will be a celebration of the resilience of both teams to reach this point in the season, and the focus will be on laying a platform to re-launch the age group to bigger and better things in the 2023 season.

Inverell Saints go into the Under 14 Grand Final as favourites based on their undefeated record, however Tamworth Roosters proved they can match it with the Saints when the two teams played out a thrilling draw earlier in the season.

The day will also include the presentation of the end of season League awards, including the prestigious Best and Fairest trophy.