Birchip-Watchem’s girls’ football season has concluded for 2024, with the club hosting the Central Victoria Football League (CVFL) finals at George Cartwright Oval last Friday night.

The season ran for six weeks, with a Sunday morning fixture at Woorinen followed by Friday night games at Tyntynder, Swan Hill (twice), Kerang and Birchip. It was a big commitment by players, their parents and the volunteers, as the Friday night games often meant parents having to leave work early, and Sunday games meaning most of the weekend would be taken up by sport.

Trainings were also held weekly on Monday afternoons at Birchip. However, the efforts were worth it to see the Birchip-Watchem jumper represented in girls’ football and the girls enjoying the game so much.

Girls who were not affiliated with Birchip-Watchem for Saturday sport were still encouraged to join the Bulls teams. Girls from Wyche-proof, Nullawil, Donald, Boort and Warracknabeal took up the opportunity to play with the Birchip-based girls. Having these girls training and playing together with great spirit and camaraderie was a joy to watch. Both teams were coached by Birchip-Watchem senior footballer Darcy Reid, who did a fabulous job coaching the girls on Monday nights as well as on game days.

New lights

Birchip-Watchem was delighted to host the finals of this year’s competition which turned out to be the first competitive football matches played under the club’s new competition-standard lights that were installed in late May. Light rain persisted throughout the night, but did not stop over 500 players and supporters of the CVFL attending the event.

Under-15s

In the under-15s competition, Birchip-Watchem were defeated by Woorinen in the third verses fourth playoff, while Tyntynder were crowned premiers after a nail-biting three-point victory over Swan Hill in the grand final. It was the third consecutive premiership for the Bulldogs.

Under-12s

In the under-12s, Swan Hill defeated Woorinen in the third versus fourth playoff. In the grand final, Kerang defeated Birchip-Watchem by 15 points. The raucous crowd support for the Bulls in this grand final was amazing. Numerous holding the ball decisions after great tackles from the Bulls girls received huge cheers, while the cacophony of car horns after a Bulls’ goal echoed across the recreation reserve. A strong Kerang team prevailed in the end, but the Bulls were able to turn a 70-point defeat against the Blues just three weeks ago into a 15-point deficit on grand final night.

At the conclusion of play, premiership medals were awarded as well as the U15s best & fairest awards. Best & fairest was Meg Young from Woorinen, and runner-up Ashlei Poyner, from Birchip-Watchem. Each club also presented a Most Improved Medal, with Birchip-Watchem’s awards going to Shanae Rotherham and Ashlei Poyner.

An end-of-season breakup for the Bulls girls was held at the Birchip Community Leisure Centre on Thursday, June 6. Darcy Reid was lauded for his efforts as coach, with all girls showing noticeable improvement in their skills and game sense as the season progressed. In his speech, Darcy thanked team managers Steph Coffey and Connely Ryan as well as field umpires Mark Bowen and Bailey Baxter for their help and commitment to the teams. He also thanked parents and helpers who assisted with goal umpiring, organising uniforms and helmets, transporting the girls to games and many more jobs.

The Bulls now look ahead to the 2025 season as they continue their commitment to the development of girls football at the club.

Any players and volunteers who wish to be involved or get more information should contact BWFC secretary Stephanie Coffey.

This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 7 June 2024.