Bunbury have won the 2026, Dale Alcock Homes South West, South West Football League Premiership with a forty one point win over Busselton at Hands Memorial Oval on Saturday evening.
It was a hot start to the grand final as expected, with Liam Creighton kicking the opening goal of the match against the breeze. Tackling was fierce with scoring at a premium with both sides missing opportunities, with the pressure from both sides extremely high. A defensive error from a kick in landed with Dylan Heasman who ran into an open goal, putting the Bulldogs in front by three points. Heasman snapped a goal from ten metres out to extend Bunbury’s advantage to nine. Some run and carry from the Magpies paid off when Liam Creighton quickly played on, finding Brayden Lawler close to goal, kicking a crucial goal into the breeze.
The second quarter started like the first, with a goal into the breeze, this time to Bunbury with Tom Oliver drilling a low ball through the goals. The ball was going from end to end, with Dylan Heasman hitting the post at one end, while Mitch Tenardi would hit the post at the other. Liam Creighton would take a spectacular pack mark, and then kicked truly from outside fifty metres to reduce the margin to three points. A fifty metre penalty saw Xavier Williamson immediately reply for the Bulldogs with the match being played at a break neck speed. Heasman received a fortuitous free kick which led to his third, extending Bunbury’s advantage to fifteen points. A horrendous defensive error led to Jack Gouge running into an open goal, with Busselton under siege all of a sudden. Liam Creighton was playing a lone hand for the Magpies, taking another strong mark which he converted to have three goals by half time.
Jett Woods got Bunbury off to the perfect start in the third term, as the Bulldogs double Busselton’s score, followed by a goal to Kye Wright.
That goal as it turned out would be the second last goal of the match, with the match turning into an arm wrestle in the final stanza, with both sides out on their feet.
Busselton would go through the second half unbelievably without kicking a goal, and the only goal of the final term went to Bunbury with seven second remaining courtesy of a relayed free kick.
It would be Bunbury’s tenth premiership, and first since 2020. Aidan Clarke would win the prestigous Pike Medal as the best player on the ground in the Grand Final.
SCOREBOARD
Bunbury 2.4.16 7.8.50 9.12.66 10.15.75
Busselton 2.1.13 4.4.28 4.7.31 4.10.34
Goals: Bunbury – Dylan Heasman 3, Jett Woods 2, Jack Gouge 1, Xavier Williamson 1, Fraser Gilchrist 1, Kye Wright 1, Tom Oliver 1. Busselton – Liam Creighton 3, Brayden Lawler 1.
Best: Bunbury – Aidan Clarke, Brenton Hilton, Baiden Parsons, Denholm King, Trae Field, Dylan Heasman. Busselton – Tony Notte, Mitchell Fraser, Liam Creighton, Bailey Sanford, Mitchell Tenardi, Lucas Kemp
Ground: Hands Memorial Oval
Umpires: Talen Guthrie, Khye Skoda, Aaron Andrews
Pike Medal: Aidan Clarke (Bunbury)
Crowd: 3255
Images courtesy of Jon Gellweiler