Tigers prevail in Victorian Wheelchair Football League Grand Final
The wheelchair footy season has officially come to a close with a double header of Grand Final action between rivals Richmond and Collingwood. The Tigers and the Pies faced off in both the Community Wheelchair Football League (CWFL) and the Victorian Wheelchair Football League (VWFL) at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) on Sunday afternoon.
In the CWFL, Collingwood were the underdogs, taking out the ladder leaders Richmond in the club's first ever CWFL Grand Final appearance, whilst Richmond came out on top of the Pies in the VWFL to claim their third premiership.
2024 Victorian Wheelchair Football League
Grand Final – Match Report
Richmond Football Club: 13.4 (82) def Collingwood: 9.5 (59)
RICH: 3.2 | 4.3 | 11.3 | 13.4 – 82
COLL: 3.0 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 9.5 – 59
Goals
Richmond: A Mavroudis 7, C Kotsanas 4, C Henderson 2
Collingwood: A Perito 6, B Jankovski 2, P McKay 1
Match Report
Both Richmond and Collingwood were searching for their third premiership within the Victorian Wheelchair Football League as the two powerhouses met in the Grand Final for a third time in the league’s history. Richmond showed everyone why they’ve been the benchmark team in recent years as a dominant third quarter set up a famous 23-point victory.
Collingwood had the hot start, as captain Ben Jankovski was able to secure the first goal of the game and the Collingwood supporters were making same serious noise at the Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre. Richmond answered back quickly as Angelo Mavroudis slotted the first of his seven goals for the afternoon.
Nothing could separate these teams early on, with had nine lead changes in the first half, and no team being able to string together consecutive goals.
The Pies went into the half-time break leading by six points, but considering they had the territory/possession battle clearly won, it felt as if they didn’t quite capitalise enough on their dominance and allowed Richmond to stay right in the game.
It was the third quarter where Richmond broke the game open, as they’ve so often done throughout the 2024 season. Chris Kotsanas who had a quiet first half came out like a man on a mission in the third term. He scored all four of his goals inside those 10 minutes as the Tigers piled on seven goals while keeping the Pies to just the one point, thanks to the magnificent defensive pressure from James Weinert and Mitch Stretton.
Richmond came into the final quarter with a 35 point lead and when club champion Chris Henderson nailed the first of the term it felt as if that was the final blow. Anthony Perito came back onto the field for Collingwood and miraculously produced three goals in 90 seconds of play to bring it back to an 18 point game with four minutes remaining.
Unfortunately for the Pies they left their comeback too late, and Angelo Mavroudis was able to put through the final dagger in the heart of the Pies to ensure Richmond would be premiers yet again.
Richmond taking out the Robert Rose Cup for a record third time with defender James Weinert awarded the best-on-ground medallion for his defensive efforts, with captain Tiesha Shadwell not far behind in the votes as her leadership was instrumental in the Tigers victory as she kept a level head and produced yet another magnificent game.
2024 Community Wheelchair Football League
Grand Final – Match Report
Richmond Football Club: 2.3 (15) def by Collingwood Football Club: 4.12 (36)
RICH: | 1.0 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.3 | - 15
COLL: | 2.2 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 4.12 | - 46
Goals
Richmond: M Titford 1, B Parsons 1
Collingwood: T Hawkins 2, A Paddle 1, B Axford 1
Match Report
Richmond came into this game undefeated throughout the entirety of the 2024 Community League season with a whopping percentage of 477% while Collingwood finished third on the ladder and had to go the long way around to make it into their first CWFL Grand Final.
The crowd was electric at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre as the Collingwood faithful had turned up in full force while the ever-reliable Richmond fans were cheering on their team. The Tigers got the first goal of the game through Mark Titford and many thought it would be the first of many for the yellow and black but that was not the case as they only managed one more goal for the remainder of the game.
Captain of Collingwood, Troy Hawkins got the first goal for the Pies with only a few minutes left in the first quarter as the grandstands were shaking with the noise coming from the Pies supporters. Andrew Paddle then nailed a set-shot on the quarter-time siren to give them a 14-6 lead at the first break.
Collingwood couldn’t buy a goal in the middle terms as they had eight points in a row, many hitting the post, and you could feel the tension surrounding the stadium as their inaccuracy kept Richmond in the contest. Bryant Parsons, the CWFL leading goal-scorer and Richmond Captain scored on the half-time siren to keep the Tigers in the game.
With only 10 minutes of football remaining the Pies were holding onto a slender 20-15 lead and their inaccuracy continued in the last term until they moved defender Brad Axford into the forward line, while skipper Troy Hawkins got his second goal only a minute afterwards to seal a famous victory for the Pies.
Brad Axford was named best-on-ground as he produced an awe-inspiring performance. Brad was instrumental in shutting down the Richmond forward line which is no easy task as the Tigers were by far the highest scoring team in the league, then was moved into the forward line and produced a brilliant goal in the last term. Matthew Blunt was the un-sung hero of the day as his efforts in the centre and defence was a big reason why Collingwood were able to win, along with Tim O’Connor in the backline.
In a shock upset, Collingwood took out a win in their first ever CWFL Grand Final apperance, with an amazing victory over the previously undefeated Tigers. One of the best games we’ve seen within the league and the atmosphere at MSAC was undeniable.
