Northampton beat Towns to go through to Great Northern Women’s Football League grand final against Valley

Northampton went through to the Great Northern Women’s Football League grand final with a win against Towns in the preliminary on Sunday.

After a close first half, the game finished 8.7 (55) to 1.3 (9) as the Rams’ Georgina Brand and ruck Tiani Teakle each kicked two goals.

Rams coach Josh Wilson said he was hoping his side, the minor premier winners, could take their form from the second half into the decider against Chapman Valley after they lifted to take the game.

He said testing players’ mentality was “what finals footy does”.

“They fired up in the second half, which was promising if they can take that into the first quarter (of the grand final),” Wilson said.

“They all needed to lift, and they had to do it themselves.”

He said Charlotte Kennedy had played well in the first half, disrupting Towns’ momentum as the Bulldogs took a narrow lead in the first quarter.

Teakle should be fit for the grand final after coming off injured, while Asha Poletti will be back for the grand final after a broken cheekbone and will wear a helmet.

Kennedy was best on ground.

Julia Teakle, Tiani’s sister, also stood out. The Teakle sisters lead the club’s best tally for the season, and Julia Teakle is second on the goal scoring charts with 20, behind Katie Croston’s 21.

Hannah Trusso is third with 17.

They face a strong Chapman Valley side in the grand final at Greenough Oval on Saturday.

It will be played after the youth girls’ competition grand final.

The grand final will match up two teams that have been nearly perfectly balanced this season.

Northampton finished one win ahead of Chapman Valley in the regular season.

They lost the second semifinal to the Royals by a single point in August, 4.8 (32) to 5.1 (31).