SWFL grand final: South Bunbury complete invincible 2024 season with 42-point grand final win over Bunbury

South Bunbury secured their slice of South West Football League history in the grand final at Hands Oval on Sunday, beating Bunbury by 42 points to finish off an invincible 2024 season. Having not tasted defeat all year, the Tigers came into the season decider as overwhelming favourites but looked unburdened by the pressure, producing a performance worthy of their billing to seal the premiership 15.9 (99) to 8.9 (57). The season is their first without a loss in any game for nearly 40 years, while it is the league’s first unbeaten campaign since Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault won all their games in 2019. South Bunbury’s 46th league premiership breaks something of a drought by their own lofty standards, ending a seven-year run without a flag which stood as one of the longest in their proud history. High-flyer Tyson Lane, who slotted four goals and hauled in some huge marks, claimed the Pike Medal for the best player afield in the contest but in a story typical of the Tigers’ season, none of their players played a poor game. Their old guard of Shaun Crane, Jace Cormack and Kevin Chitty put in particularly excellent performances, showing the value of experience on the big stage, while spearhead Blaine Johnson capped off a brilliant first season for the club with a five-goal haul. For the Bulldogs, veteran Jesse Gribble — who was able to recover from a hamstring injury which saw him miss the second semi final and preliminary final to feature on the day — gave his absolute all. Bunbury’s strong season has been driven by their stars but they struggled to do much damage in the final game of the year, with the competition’s leading goal-kicker Joel Houghton not finding the major opening until his sixth shot on goal and Harry Creasey’s impact muted by comparison to his standout campaign. The Tigers have been able to dominate games in different ways this season and their final one was no different — they smashed the Bulldogs at stoppages early but were able to turn their fearsome transition game into their main weapon once their opponents found a foothold at the contest. As they had in their last two games against their cross-town rivals, South Bunbury started fast, kicking the only four goals of the first quarter to take a 26-point lead into the first break. Kade Wallrodt’s snapped finish at a forward-50 stoppage gave them their first goal of the day inside the first five minutes and Lachlan Riley followed up in similar fashion later in the term. Houghton had three difficult looks at goal in the term but had only one behind to show for them, while his counterpart Johnson showed his radar was on point at the other end by splitting the middle with his first two set shots. The Bulldogs finally kicked their first goal of the game at the start of the second term after Jethro Barraclough found space in behind the Tigers’ defence, but quick responses from Riley and Bourne saw the margin grow. Hamish Hall and Dylan Heasman provided the spark the Bulldogs needed later in the term, finishing brilliantly from the boundary in quick succession. But their momentum was sapped by a run of ill-discipline only moments before the main break, with Max Bilcich penalised with a 50-metre penalty for a push on Lane after he had completed a high-flying mark, allowing him to slot a goal which saw South Bunbury’s half-time advantage out to 24 points. Bunbury’s hopes of a fast start to the second half were snuffed out by deep attacks early in the third quarter which resulted in goals for Lane and Cormack, extending the Tigers’ lead to six goals. Heasman’s second goal provided an important response but South Bunbury were able to boost their three-quarter time advantage to 44 points by kicking three of the next four majors. It included one for Johnson at the top of the goal square coming directly after another Houghton miss to bring the performances of the two full-forwards into sharp contrast. The Bulldogs’ near-impossible task became even harder at the start of the fourth term when Lane was able to again shake his defender and find the space to kick a major. Back-to-back answers in quick time from Jesse Kirwen and Houghton might have had the most optimistic Bulldogs supporter beginning to dream but Lane quickly bobbed up again to put paid to any hopes of a miracle comeback. The sting gradually faded out of the contest as the inevitability of the result became apparent but some spot fires took place as the final siren drew closer, marking the first serious altercations in a contest which had largely been played in good spirits. About 4000 spectators turned out for the first league grand final at the venue since the opening of the new multi-million dollar grandstand.