12 North Shore teams qualified for finals, a big start to the business end of the season. Of those teams, Mens Division One, Mens Division Four and Under 19.5s Division One finished minor premiers in final five competitions and had the first week off; leaving nine of our teams to take the field.
On Saturday, Mens and Womens Premier Division both recorded wins, making their way to the Major Semi-Final and will play Manly this week. Under 19.5s Division Two were also successful and make their way straight into the Grand Final. Womens Under 20s went down by a kick, but will get another shot when they play the Preliminary Final next week.
Sunday was knockout finals day. Womens Division One and Womens Division Two were successful and go through to action next week. But the season came to an end for Mens Division Three and both Mens Division Five teams.
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MENS
Second after the regular season, Premier Division were taking on our 2022 & 2023 nemesis UNSW-ES. The first half was an arm-wrestle, three goals apiece with a 20-minute period in the second quarter in which neither team scored. In the second half, the Bombers got on top to record a 36-point win. Fraser Thurlow, Ethan Grace and Matt Wilson were best as our Seniors got themselves one win away from the Grand Final.
Division Three were in a knockout semi-final against Camden on Sunday. It was looking good at half time, with the Bombers holding a 24-point lead. But the Cats kicked six unanswered goals in the third quarter to take the lead, and added another four in the last to extend the final margin to 39 points. Connor Fahy, Seb Wood and Will Baily worked hard, but unfortunately our season has come to an end.
Division Five North-West were at Bruce Purser for a Sunday evening sudden-death final against Penrith. A bright start saw the Bombers kick the only two goals in the first quarter, but the Rams got them back to take the lead in the second term. There was only a kick in it at the last change, but the Bombers ran out of legs in the last term. Nick McLachlan, Mackenzie Taylor and Matt Lee were best; but it wasn’t enough to keep the season alive.
Division Five City-South were playing South-West Sydney for the second week in a row, this time on a Sunday morning at Rosedale. The Bombers created chances in the first half but were unable to capitalise, leaving them behind on the scoreboard. Two quick goals in the third term gave the Bombers a sniff, but they were unable to go on with it and the season came to an end. Will Dight, Ben Hayward and Cameron Honey were solid for the Bombers.
Under 19.5s Division Two are through to the Grand Final after grinding their way past Sydney Uni in the Major Semi-Final at Olds Park on Saturday morning. In a low-scoring game, the Bombers kicked the only two goals; enough to record a hard-earned 14-point win. Michael Riddell, Ted Newman and Tom Roche were superb for the Bombers as they repelled every Uni scoring chance to ensure the win.
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MENS PREMIER DIVISION (SENIORS)
Qualifying Final
| North Shore | 3.3.21 | 3.6.24 | 6.11.47 | 9.13.67 |
| Sydney Uni | 1.0.6 | 3.0.18 | 4.0.24 | 5.1.31 |
Goals – F Thurlow 3, T Gillis 2, M Yeoland 2, M Buskariol, F Rogers.
Best – F Thurlow, E Grace, M Wilson, M Rogers, C Donald, F Rogers.
At Blacktown International Sportspark, Saturday 30th August 2025.
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MENS DIVISION THREE (FOURTHS)
Minor Semi-Final
| North Shore | 4.3.27 | 7.6.48 | 7.7.49 | 7.7.49 |
| Camden | 0.4.4 | 3.6.24 | 9.9.63 | 13.10.88 |
Goals – S Wood 2, J Bateman, C Dennis, H Franklin, B Greaves, C Lovegrove.
Best – C Fahy, S Wood, W Baily, H White, C Lovegrove, J Bateman.
At Bruce Purser Reserve, Sunday 31st August 2025.
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MENS DIVISION FIVE NORTH-WEST (SIXTHS)
Minor Semi-Final
| North Shore | 2.2.14 | 2.3.15 | 3.6.24 | 3.9.27 |
| Penrith | 0.2.2 | 2.7.19 | 3.12.30 | 9.17.71 |
Goals – M Lee 2, R Black.
Best – N McLachlan, M Taylor, M Lee, H Kirk, J Netting, R Black.
At Bruce Purser Reserve, Sunday 31st August 2025.
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MENS DIVISION FIVE CITY-SOUTH (SEVENTHS)
Elimination Final
| North Shore | 0.3.3 | 0.5.5 | 2.8.20 | 2.9.21 |
| South-West Sydney | 3.2.20 | 5.4.34 | 8.4.52 | 10.7.67 |
Goals – B Brown, C Rickard.
Best – W Dight, B Hayward, C Honey, M Davis, Z Gnaden, S Gray.
At Rosedale Oval, Sunday 31st August 2025.
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MENS UNDER 19.5s DIVISION TWO
Major Semi-Final
| North Shore | 0.4.4 | 1.5.11 | 1.5.11 | 2.6.18 |
| Sydney Uni | 0.0.0 | 0.2.2 | 0.3.3 | 0.4.4 |
Goals – A Belousoff, T Newman.
Best – M Riddell, T Newman, T Roche, J Pocknee, A Belousoff, C Molloy.
At Olds Park, Saturday 30th August 2025.
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WOMENS
It was a comfortable afternoon for Premier Division on Saturday afternoon as they took out a 40-point Qualifying Final win over Sydney Uni. Three goals in the first few minutes set up a lead that the Students never looked like recovering from; and from there the defence tightened and the Students were held to a single goal for the day. Kiera Yerbery, Charli Tidemann and Zoe Hurrell were outstanding as the Bombers got to within a game of the Grand Final.
Division One made their way into the Preliminary Final with a minimum of fuss as they comfortably accounted for UTS by 33 points in a Sunday morning knockout final at Blacktown. The defence held firm all day, holding the Bats to a single goal, the Bombers winning every quarter and never letting the Bats into the contest. Hannah Collins, Liv O’Donnell and Grace Thomas were standouts in a solid team effort.
One of the more remarkable finals performances was the two-point win by Division Two at Rosedale. Well beaten by Penrith twice during the season, just fell into the top five and two goals down after a few minutes; there’d have been long odds. But the Bombers never gave up and worked to get back into the contest, taking the lead shortly before the long break. A goal apiece in the third, and it went down to the wire; but the Bombers courageously hung on for dear life. Kaia Rainier, Brianna Gorman and Emma Borkman were superb in a stirring win.
It was a heart-breaker for Under 20s against Manly at Rosedale. It was a tight, defensive struggle in which scoring was hard to come by; with the defences of both teams working overtime. The Bombers led by a point at the last change, but the Wolves scored early in the last; and despite creating chances in the last quarter, the Bombers were unable to find the winner. Erica Blazey, Anna Langford and Jaime Morelli battled tirelessly; but the Bombers fell agonisingly short. But we get another crack in the Preliminary Final next week.
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WOMENS PREMIER DIVISION (SENIORS)
Qualifying Final
| North Shore | 3.1.19 | 3.2.20 | 5.5.35 | 7.6.48 |
| Sydney Uni | 0.0.0 | 1.0.6 | 1.1.7 | 1.2.8 |
Goals – G Hill, A Keeffe, L Micheletti, L Sullivan, C Tidemann, L Watson, L Yates.
Best – K Yerbury, C Tidemann, Z Hurrell, L Yates, H de Saxe, E Daniel.
At Blacktown International Sportspark, Saturday 30th August 2025.
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WOMENS DIVISION ONE (RESERVES)
Minor Sem- Final
| North Shore | 1.4.10 | 3.4.22 | 4.6.30 | 6.7.43 |
| UTS | 0.0.0 | 1.1.7 | 1.3.9 | 1.4.10 |
Goals – E Cleghorn, P Gray, S McGirr, C McLeay, S Smit, K Villareal.
Best – H Collins, L O’Donnell, G Thomas, E Carroll, M Barnet-Hepples, B French.
At Blacktown International Sportspark, Sunday 31st August 2025.
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WOMENS DIVISION TWO (THIRDS)
Elimination Final
| North Shore | 0.1.1 | 2.4.16 | 3.6.24 | 3.6.24 |
| Penrith | 2.2.14 | 2.2.14 | 3.3.21 | 3.4.22 |
Goals – A Dalgleish, C Minyanish, P Studdert.
Best – K Rainier, B Gorman, E Borkman, A Dalgleish, N Spalvins, E Shefts.
At Rosedale Oval, Sunday 31st August 2025.
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WOMENS UNDER 20s
Major Semi-Final
| North Shore | 0.2.2 | 1.2.8 | 2.3.15 | 2.4.16 |
| Manly | 0.0.0 | 1.2.8 | 2.2.14 | 3.2.20 |
Goals – A Horneman 2.
Best – E Blazey, A Langford, J Morelli, A Horneman, C Griebel, J Loughhead.
At Rosedale Oval, Saturday 30th August 2025.
