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Banshee's duo head back to Etihad for another Grand Final

  • Thursday, September 21 2017 @ 10:00 pm ACST
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The VFLW is arguably the best competition for women in Australia outside the newly formed AFLW. This weekend their Grand Final will be played from midday at Etihad Stadium. The match will be shown live in Melbourne Channel 7 from 11.30am and covered on RSN Digital radio by the Girls Play Footy team from 11am.
 
Just over a month since the International Cup Grand Final Ireland’s Laura Corrigan-Duryea will represent Diamond Creek in the match, who on form should be overwhelming favourites in the match. Corrigan-Duryea and Irish Banshees team mate Clara Fitzpatrick both were on the winning side two week’s ago when they convincingly defeated the Darebin Falcons in the Qualifying Final at Piranha Park, Coburg.
The team named suggests has Duryea starting on the bench and Fitzpatrick at this stage is an emergency for the Grand Final. If one, of both of them takes the field they may be the first players to play in two winning Grand Finals at Etihad stadium in one season and the first to do the IC/VFLW double in a season.
 
Both teams have the 2017 joint leading goal kicker with Darebin’s Katie Brennan and Diamond Creek’s Chloe Molloy finishing the home and away season even in the goal kicking. Brennan won the league’s Best and Fairest award and Molloy looks set to be one of the first picked at this year’s AFLW Draft. And spread among both sides is plenty more AFLW talent (including four captains and the rookie of the year).
 
After losing the Qualifying final to Diamond Creek, the Falcons had to make it to the Grand Final the hard way, scraping through to the Grand Final with a late comeback five-point Preliminary Final win against the St Kilda Sharks.  While Diamond Creek should be favourites, Darebin have an impressive history of Premierships in the VFLW/VFWL and are playing in their 11th straight Grand Final.
 
 
The matches at Etihad on Sunday will be a triple header with the Swisse Wellness VFL Women’s (12pm local), Peter Jackson VFL (3pm local) and TAC Cup (7.35pm local) ‘Love the Game’ Grand Finals.