The Gunnedah Poochettes stamped themselves as premiership contenders in the AFL North West (NSW) women’s competition, as they edged out reigning premiers the Inverell Saints by a single point at Varley Oval last Saturday.

After the Saints and Poochettes faced off in the past three grand finals – Gunnedah winning in 2023 – the same two clubs have been the front-runners this year although Inverell arguably had the wood on Gunnedah until last Saturday.

It was the first time Inverell tasted defeat this season, with the Saints having beaten Gunnedah by 10 points and 67 points on May 3 and June 21 respectively while the Poochettes were below full strength.

Only two goals and seven behinds were scored in extremely wet conditions last Saturday, with a lot of action in and around the midfield while it was a struggle to move the ball into the forward lines.

Gunnedah captain Alexa Walker said she had never seen the field in such a condition.

“They were having to sweep the water from the massive puddles forming on the field,” she said.

“The weather conditions ranged from heavy rain to mist to the occasional pause, but it never dampened our spirit on the day.”

Walker said the game was different from previous encounters, as both teams were used to being able to clear the ball from stoppages and effectively move the ball around the field.

“The conditions turned the game in our favour as it became a battle of attrition,” she said.

“The Poochettes were relentless all over the field which was extremely encouraging to see.”

Gunnedah opened the scoring with a behind, before Hannah Fotheringham kicked Inverell’s only goal of the match to enable the Saints to lead 1.0.6 to 0.1.1 at quarter-time.

The Saints landed two behinds while the Poochettes were kept scoreless in the second term, and then Gunnedah’s Braie Devine kicked the second and final goal of the match in the third term.

The Poochettes also scored three behinds in the third term while keeping the Saints scoreless, and then a behind to Inverell with about 10 minutes remaining was the only score in the final term.

The Poochettes defended grimly for the final 10 minutes, and hung on to achieve a memorable 1.4.10 to 1.3.9 triumph.

Gunnedah’s skipper said the 10.8.68 to 0.1.1 loss to Inverell in the previous encounter “left us feeling very deflated as we hadn’t shown up as our best on that day”.

“This has fuelled our fire in training and games ever since,” she said.

“As a team, we rose to the occasion at Inverell as we had nothing to lose.

“As we take on the back half of the season, it is exciting to see our team dynamic really coming together and how we take on these challenges as a team.”

Walker said wins like last Saturday’s “not only boost our confidence but also remind us why we love playing AFL”.

“While a premiership is always the goal, for us, the real reward is the sense of mateship and the joy we get from playing together,” she said.

“That’s what drives us, and performances like that show we’re capable of going all the way.”