WHITFORDS have never won an A-Grade flag but the Warriors have been a club on the rise since returning to the WA Amateur Football League’s top flight after the 2007 season.
That year they were runners-up to West Coast Cowan and Whitfords made an immediate impact in A-Grade, making the semi-finals in 2008 and reaching the preliminary final last year.
All the signs are that Whitfords can go one better in this weekend’s grand final against North Beach but the Warriors must win the midfield battle to have any chance, according to football manager Brett Driscoll.
“(North Beach’s) midfield is excellent and they run well off half-back, they are a good all-round side and they are coached very well,” he said.
A high workrate and the ability to play for each other were the strengths of the Whitfords team, according to Driscoll, and it was well-balanced with a mix of experience and youth.
The Warriors team includes several players with WAFL experience, including Michael Clark (41 games, East Perth), Michael Healey (18 games, East Perth) and Darren Atkinson (58 games, West Perth).
Ben Kuhl and Michael Waddington have regularly been among Whitfords’ best players, in a season where the Warriors finished third (11 wins, seven losses) before thumping Trinity-Aquinas by 49 points in the qualifying final.
North Beach won the second semi-final by 72 points but the Warriors redeemed themselves in the preliminary final rematch against Trinity-Aquinas, winning by 11 points on the back of Tyson Feist’s eight goals.
The Tigers’ finals experience will serve them well as they chase their seventh straight flag and their 10th in 12 seasons, all under former Essendon star and 1985 Norm Smith medallist Bill Duckworth.
Among the Warriors’ likely opponents is Chris Perkin, who kicked five goals in the semi-final win.
- The WAAFL A-Grade grand final is at Leederville Oval this Saturday from 2.30pm.