LIAM PHILLIPS & AJ WHICHELLO

WILLASTON teenager Dakota Williams stole the show at the SA Country Football Championships at Victor Harbor over the weekend, while the men’s Central zone team went down in the decider.

Williams, 16, who captained the women’s Central team, but is somehow not yet in the SANFLW system, was named joint winner of both the Best Under-21 Player, and Women’s Player of the Championships, along with Murray South East’s Ella Little.

Williams’s ferocious tackling and fine work in the contest earned her a ruck rover spot in the Team of the Championships, despite her Central side losing both of its first two matches against eventual grand finalists Northern Zone and Murray South East.

Central coach Megan Boers said her side was unlucky with its tough draw, but proved it can compete against some of the best South Australia has to offer, producing a stylish win over Eastern in its last game of the weekend.

“I think we were super competitive,” she said.

“We got an unlucky draw playing the two teams that would play off in the grand final, but our contested footy was about the best I’ve seen in the women’s game.

“We had an incredible bond over the weekend and made some amazing memories and friendships, and we’re hungry to return next year and do our very best to make the championship game.

“I’m super proud of our young team proving they have what it takes against current SANFL listed players, and we deserved the win we got.”

Other impressive locals were Gawler Central’s Kayla McInerney and Tegan Nottle, as well as Willaston’s Lillian Bornholdt, with Nottle and Bornholdt earning Team of the Championships selection.

On the men’s side, Central made a run all the way to the grand final before ultimately going down by 43 points against Southern Districts.

The final was score did not reflect the closeness of the contest, in which Central took a three-point lead into the final quarter before Southern unleashed an onslaught, kicking seven goals in the final term.

Central earned its spot in the big one with a pair of wins on Saturday against Northern Zone, winning 55- 19, and Murray South East 40-28.

Nuriootpa’s James Bentley led the way up forward against Northern, kicking a game-high three goals, while Barossa District’s Leigh Ryswyk and Willaston’s Tyson Irlam starred in the win over
Murray South East. Gawler Central’s Tom Phelps kicked a goal in the grand final loss, while the only BL&G players to make the Team of the Championships were South Gawler’s Patrick White and Angaston’s Marc Borholm.

It was also a great weekend for local umpires, with Hudson Noack becoming the first BL&G umpire to win Umpire of the Championships.