Harvey Brunswick Leschenault will play South Bunbury in the Get Careers Colts grand final, this Saturday at Hands Memorial Oval.
The Get Careers Colts match is normally one of the best games of the day, and this one promises to be a ripper, with Harvey Brunswick Leschenault and South Bunbury to do battle in the 2026 decider.
The Lions are into their fourth straight Grand Final which is a great achievement, while the Tigers were last in a Colts Grand Final in 2019.
The Lions have won the last six contests between the two sides, but not by big margins, with the Lions winning the Qualifying Final by 23 points, while in round sixteen it was just seven points and in round five it was ten points.
The most recent match was played on neutral turf at Sir Stewart Bovell Park, with South Bunbury leading at half time, before the Lions kicked five goals to one in the second half to take victory.
Riley Preece, Rodney Joseph and Ziggy Freemantle were amongst the better players in that match and have been consistent contributors all season. The Lions are tall side, none taller that Louis Gualter who regularly gets his hand to the ball first and is hard to match up on.
Up forward, Mason Bubb and Cody Matthews have combined to kick 51 goals between them, while at the other end, Eamon Ramsay has kicked 45 goals, highlighted by his fourteen majors in round twenty against the Bulls.
Both sides are highly skilled and like to run with the ball, and both have the ability to score quickly. The Lions may have the advantage of having several players in their side that have played in a grand final, the Tigers don’t have that luxury, however they are playing on Hands Memorial Oval, which they are sure to use to their advantage.
The Lions have played in seventeen colts grand finals winning eight and losing nine, while the Tigers have been in ten, winning five. The Lions have won the last two premierships and will looking to make it a third, while South Bunbury have not won the Colts competition since 2005. In that Grand Final the Tigers defeated the Lions by ten points, just one of two times they have met in a Grand Final, the other was in 1986.
Images courtesy of Wayne Hislop