Spirits and tensions were high at the West Kimberley Football League preliminary final, with a brawl nearly breaking out between Broome Towns and Broome Bulls during the quarter-time break as the two sides clashed at Haynes Oval on Saturday afternoon.
But while the scenes looked like they might escalate further, players eventually returned to the field without major incident.
Before the tensions rose, Sean Gregory kicked the first goal for Towns and although the Bulls managed a single point, Towns were in control early leading by nine points at quarter-time, 1.4 (10) to 0.1 (1).
Brennan Stack Snr and Gregory added more goals in the second term before Daniel Dwyer and Daniel Moore hit back for the Bulls. Towns steadied themselves with further goals from Liam Bedford and Gregory to keep their lead intact, 5.6 (36) to 2.1 (13).
The Bulls got the first goal of the third term through Dwyer but Brayden Tolentino, Alex Valli and Ethan Peacock all replied for Towns, pulling the side even further ahead to lead 8.11 (59) to 3.1 (19).
The Bulls continued to push in the final term with a goal from Brent Fotheringhame but Towns answered quickly with goals from Oliver Walton and Peacock.
Clive Djiagween kicked a late-term goal for the Bulls but it wasn’t enough to take the lead with Towns taking the win and booking their ticket to the grand final, 10.11 (71) to 5.1 (31).
Towns’ Sean Gregory was the top scorer of the match with three goals while Daniel Dwyer was the top scorer for the Broome Bulls with two goals.
Broome Towns’ will now face Cable Beach in the grand final on Saturday, which will be a rematch of the grand final last year when Broome Towns’ ended Cable Beach’s grand final winning streak.
In the women’s preliminary final, Broome Towns also claimed victory against the Peninsula Bombers on Saturday morning, earning themselves a spot in the grand final against Cable Beach.
Both sides struggled to find their feet, scoring just a behind each to head into the quarter-time break 0.1 (1) to 0.1 (1).
Monique Criddle and Brianna Mowatt kicked a goal each in the second term giving Towns an early jump before Mikaylah Bin Sali hit back for the Bombers.
The Bombers closed the term with a couple of behinds but Towns still held the lead, 2.1 (13) to 1.3 (9).
Mowatt pushed Towns’ further into the lead with another goal in the third term while the Bombers stagnated, failing to score and trailing 3.2 (20) to 1.3 (9).
The Bombers pushed hard in the final term but only managed to score two more behinds as Towns tightened up their defence.
While Towns didn’t manage to score in the final term, their lead held them in good stead, securing the win and their grand final spot, 3.2 (20) to 1.5 (11).
Mowatt was the top scorer of the match with two goals while Mikaylah Bin Sali was the top scorer for the Bombers with one.
The Broome Towns women’s team will now face Cable Beach in the grand final on Saturday at Haynes Oval.
https://thewest.com.au/news/broome-advertiser/broome-towns-mens-and-womens-teams-through-to-grand-final–c-19869777
