MELBOURNE women’s football operations manager and recent winning Victorian coach Debbie Lee says this Sunday’s VFLW Grand Final between Diamond Creek and Darebin looms as an intriguing contest.
Lee said it was a great opportunity for the match to be held at Etihad Stadium for the first time, which will be played at 12pm on Sunday.
“It’s going to be a really good clash and will be held at Etihad Stadium for the very first time prior to the VFL Grand Final, which will be broadcast on Channel 7,” she told melbournefc.com.au.
“It’s really exciting for Victorian football. These two teams met in the semi-final where Diamond Creek got the better of Darebin. They played a bit more of a physical game but again Darebin didn’t hit the scoreboard and convert.
“It’s going to be a great contest.”
For the record, Darebin and Diamond Creek met in four successive VWFL Grand Finals from 2012-15. Darebin has won the past three premierships.
Lee said it was significant that the game was set to be played at Etihad Stadium.
“The VFL Women’s, which formerly known as the VWFL competition, has never been played at Etihad Stadium, nor has a game ever been broadcast, so this is a significant moment for Victorian football,” he said.
“It’s great for VFL Women’s to have this opportunity yet again, to showcase the best football in Victoria.
“We saw a glimpse of that in the State of Origin so it will be nice to see the two teams battle it out.”
Melbourne will have a presence in this clash, with Laura Duryea (Diamond Creek), plus Mel Hickey, Elise O’Dea, Karen Paxman, Daisy Pearce and Lauren Pearce (Darebin Falcons) set to feature in the Grand Final. New coaching panel member Jane Lange is also coach of Darebin.
“It’s interesting that the teammates will come up against each other,” Lee said.
“You’ve got ‘Irish’ ([Laura Duryea] at Diamond Creek and then our ruck at Melbourne, Lauren Pearce, and the guns in the middle, Elise O’Dea, Karen Paxman, Mel Hickey and Daisy Pearce [at Darebin].
“They’re really the strength of Darebin in the midfield and it will be interesting to see how Diamond Creek are going to counteract.”
Lee said it was also a great opportunity for several players to push their claims in the lead-up to next month’s NAB AFLW Draft.
“This is the last match for the VFL season and I do think that some of the girls need a rest,” she said.
“It’s been a long season with the combination of the VFL season and AFLW; it’s 12 months of the year essentially, so they’ll be looking forward to having a rest.
“In terms of the Draft, there was a game last weekend, the Young Guns game, which gave players the opportunity to show their wares. It was a combination of various community players as well as VFL players so that was a good opportunity for people to display their footy attributes.
“This will be a good game on the weekend and I think it will be a close game hopefully and we’ll again see another great round of footy.”
Match details
Diamond Creek v Darebin Falcons
Etihad Stadium, 12pm
Broadcast on Channel 7
