In a special Grand Final preview edition of the The Big W Podcast coach Michael Barlow chats to Kevin Hillier about his team’s journey so far and what is to come for the players, coaches and staff. We also hear from CEO Mark Penaluna as the club gears up for the big day on Sunday.

Produced by Howdy Partners Media (howdypartnersmedia.com.au/podcasts) on behalf of the Werribee Football Club.

Werribee will meet Gold Coast in the 2023 Smithy's VFL Grand Final at IKON Park on Sunday.

The Big W has won 17 consecutive games to reach its first decider since 2005. The club finished the regular season in second position, just percentage behind the Suns, before beating the Box Hill by 20 points in the qualifying final and the Brisbane by 30 points in the preliminary final. On Sunday Werribee will be out to secure its second premiership and end a drought dating back to 1993.

The Suns claimed the minor premiership by finishing the home-and-away season in first spot on the ladder with a 16-2 record. They advanced to this year’s Grand Final by defeating Brisbane by 43 points in the qualifying final and the Box Hill by 15 points in the preliminary final. It will be Gold Coast’s first Grand Final appearance in any competition.

TEAM NEWS
Keegan Gray has been brought into the side at the expense of Matt Keast who sat out the last quarter of the Preliminary Final win over Brisbane due to a lower back issue. Speedster Gray played in the Qualifying Final victory over before making way for the return of Michael Sodoamco.

TICKETING DETAILS
Admission for 2023 Smithy’s VFL Grand Final is adults $20, concession/pensioners $15 and children under 15 free. Tickets can be pre-purchased HERE. Spectators purchasing at the gate are advised the payment method is EFTPOS only.

WFC SUPPORTERS
The Werribee Football Club will run buses for supporters from Werribee FC to IKON Park for Sunday's game. The same buses will return to Avalon Airport Oval post-match. Cost is $10 (covers round trip) and will depart Werribee to IKON Park at 1pm. Post match the buses will depart IKON Park for Werribee at 6:30pm.

There will be a Werribee FC Fan Zone inside of Gate 6, located in the Pavilion Terrace bays 5–7.

VFL GRAND FINAL
Werribee vs Gold Coast
Sunday 24th September, 3:10pm
IKON Park, Carlton
Gates open: 1:00pm

Details at afl.com.au

Grand Final - Match Centre

Werribee is in to its first VFL grand final in almost two decades after defeating the Brisbane by 30 points in a home Preliminary Final at Avalon Airport Oval.

The Big W’s incredible run of consecutive wins is now at 17 games thanks to the 14.10 (94) to 9.10 (64) result against the Lions and they’ll now face minor premier Gold Coast in the decider after the Suns overcame Box Hill by 15 points at Heritage Bank Stadium.

Kye Declase produced another stellar finals display with a game-high 32 disposals and a sealing goal, with Dom Brew outstanding once more with 25 touches, 10 clearances and nine tackles, while Sam Clohesy again impressed across halfback collecting a career-best 25 disposals and 13 marks.

Up forward Hudson Garoni bounced back from a disappointing Qualifying Final and bagged four goals to take his tally to 44 this season with Connor Thar snagging three in his first VFL outing since May 8.

Captain Nick Coughlan lead the effort in defence with 19 possessions and 7 marks alongside another strong showing from Nathan Cooper with a team-high eight intercepts.

Werribee got off to another good start in front of an even bigger crowd than the one that turned out two weeks prior.

Snapped goals from Nick Hayes and Shaun Mannagh inside the opening eight minutes gave the home team an early lead and when Garoni fired his first after staying down in a marking contest the hosts had a 17-point buffer with seven and half minutes still to play in the first quarter.

An early Brisbane goal was the only score for more than 14 minutes to start the second term but the Big W would eventually respond with Garoni kicking truly from 30 metres out.

A third major for the Lions cut the margin to just five points but Werribee answered back emphatically, closing out the half with three unanswered goals. The first via Thar, back in the side for his first game since Round 8, with Garoni’s third and Josh Porter’s first coming soon after to give the hosts a 23-point advantage at the main break.  

The Lions dominated the first 15 minutes of the third quarter but were unable to take advantage on the scoreboard kicking five consecutive behinds before eventually adding a goal.

Unlike Brisbane, Werribee would make the most of its chances when they finally came in the second half of the term, kicking four of the next five goals through Hayes, Thar, Garoni and Noah Lever to increase its lead to 32 points ahead of the last.

Some nervousness set in across Avalon Airport Oval when Brisbane fired through the first three goals of the final quarter inside eight minutes, reducing the margin to 16 points. However, with Hayes moving behind the ball, the experienced utility and Coughlan gathered some key intercepts to help the Big W see off any further inroads from the Lions.

Porter then provided an important steadier at the at the 20-minute mark before one more Brisbane goal, but that was followed by majors to Declase and Thar who iced the game in the final stages.

Werribee’s ability to score on the counter-attack was on full display against the Lions with 10 of their 14 goals coming off turnovers brought on by some outstanding pressure as the hosts out-tackled the visitors 65-43.

Werribee now takes its place in a first grand final since 2005. The Tigers suffered a nine-point defeat to Sandringham that day in what was only their second decider since the club's lone VFA/VFL premiership 30 years ago when they comfortably defeated Port Melbourne in the final match of the 1993 season.

Werribee: 3.2 7.3 11.5 14.10 (94)
Brisbane: 1.3 3.4 5.9 9.10 (64)

GOALS
Werribee: H. Garoni 4, C. Thar 3, N. Hayes 2, J. Porter 2, S. Mannagh, K. Declase, N. Lever.
Brisbane: T. Abberley, B. Coleman, K. Dunkley, D. Fort, R. Mathieson, D. McDowell-White, J. Prior, H. Sharp, H. Smith.

BEST
Werribee: S. Clohesy, D. Brew, N. Cooper, K. Declase, H. Garoni, N. Hayes.

PRELIMINARY FINAL IMAGE GALLERY - VIEW HERE

PLAYER STATS
Kye Declase: 32 disposals (20 K, 12HB), 17 handball receives, 8 marks (1 contested), 4 clearances, 7 inside 50s, 3 rebound 50s, 10 score involvements, 1 goal.
Sam Clohesy: 25 disposals (17 K, 8 HB), 13 marks (3 intercept, 2 contested), 3 inside 50s, 3 rebound 50s, 2 tackles.
Dom Brew: 25 disposals (12 K, 13 HB), 16 contested possessions, 10 clearances, 4 inside 50s, 4 score involvements, 9 tackles.
Tom Gribble: 19 disposals (8 K, 11 HB), 3 marks, 3 tackles, 3 inside 50s, 3 rebound 50s, 7 score involvements.
Nick Coughlan: 19 disposals (18 K, 1 HB), 7 marks (4 intercept, 3 contested), 8 rebound 50s, 2 inside 50s.
Nick Hayes: 15 disposals (12 K, 3 HB), 7 marks (3 intercept), 8 score involvements, 2 goals.
Nathan Cooper: 12 disposals (4 K, 8 HB), 8 intercept possessions (2 marks), 2 rebound 50s.
Connor Thar: 12 disposals (10 K, 2 HB), 2 marks, 2 tackles, 3 inside 50s, 5 score involvements, 3 goals.
Hudson Garoni: 8 disposals (5 K, 3 HB), 4 marks, 4 score involvements, 4 goals.

NEXT GAME
Grand Final
Werribee vs Gold Coast
Sunday 24th September, 3:10pm
IKON Park, Carlton

Werribee will take on Brisbane in a preliminary final this weekend for a place in the 2023 Smithy's VFL Grand Final.

The Big W host the Lions at 12pm on Saturday in the club’s first preliminary final since a run of three from 2011 to 2013. It will be the second encounter between the teams this year having met in the opening round with Werribee going down by a single point at the Lions' Brighton Homes Arena.

The Lions progressed to their second straight preliminary final with a 40-point Semi-Final win over Williamstown this past weekend. The Lions finished the home and away season fourth before going down to Gold Coast in their Qualifying Final two weeks ago.

TEAM NEWS
Werribee welcomes back Michael Sodomaco and Connor Thar for Saturday's Preliminary Final against the Lions. 

Veteran defender Sodomaco returns after he missed the Qualifying Final against Box Hill with hamstring tightness, while small forward Thar has found his way back into the team and will play his first VFL game since May 14.

After lining up in five of Werribee's opening six games Thar suffered a syndesmosis injury in the first quarter of the Round 8 clash with Footscray at Avalon Airport Oval. The pair come into the side in place of Harry Grintell and Keegan Gray.

TICKETING DETAILS
For all VFL finals matches patrons are advised to pre-purchase tickets ahead of the day. Admission prices are adults $15, concession/pensioners $10, and children under 15 free. Tickets can be pre-purchased HERE.

Tickets can be purchased at the gate, subject to ground capacity. Payment method for tickets purchased at the gate is via EFTPOS only.

PRELIMINARY FINAL
Werribee vs Brisbane
Saturday 16th September, 12:00pm
Avalon Airport Oval, Werribee

Finals Week 3 - Match Centre

Watch live at afl.com.au