Double defeat for Hedland as Dampier shows out in the first round of North Pilbara Football League finals

It was a double defeat for Hedland in the first round of the North Pilbara Football League finals as Dampier showed why it finished on top of the men’s league with a dominant win against the Kats. The South Hedland Swans reserves might live to fight another day but they will be looking for a big improvement after the Karratha Kats cruised to victory in the first preliminary final. From the first bounce, it was an onslaught from the men from Karratha as they raced out to an eight-goal advantage in the first half. The Swans managed to compose themselves in the third quarter with four straight goals as a 10.2 (62) to 6.2 (38) scoreline made it look like the comeback was on. But the Kats showed why they finished the season on top and managed to consolidate with a big fourth quarter and won the game 12.7 (79) to 6.3 (39). The men from Karratha now head straight to the final where they will face either Dampier or the Swans who get another chance after they finished second in the season. The Hedland Blazers, who finished fourth won’t get the same chance after the Karratha Falcons squeezed a 2.5 (17) to 1.3 (9) victory over them. The second preliminary final will see the Falcons play Dampier after the Sharks were dispatched easily by the Kats. The Karratha women showed why they were the reigning champions with a dominant 5.8 (38) to 2.2 (14) victory over Dampier. It was only a six-point match close to half-time but a stunning 45m left-wing set shot from Sharni Kittow followed by a 60m bomb from Ashleigh Greenwell that bounced over everybody blew the game open for the Kats. With the Kats women team now straight into the grand final, coach Mike Fountain said the team would have to prepare for a physical encounter with either the Falcons or Dampier. “Dampier is our toughest opposition and the games with them are really physical,” he said. “It’s always a bruising encounter when we play them so we are going to need to prepare ourselves physically because we know regardless of whether it’s Dampier of the Falcons that a grand final is a different ball game.” Fountain said his team was looking forward to the week off as they needed to recover. “The rest is a significant advantage because we’ve got some sore bodies and some players that are recovering from injuries,” he said. “That extra week off gives us an opportunity to recover and fine-tune our game plan that we are going to need to take into the grand final.” Dampier now faces the Karratha Falcons for a chance at redemption in the final. In the men’s league, Dampier showed why they finished on top as well after they weathered an early flurry from the Karratha Kats. Two quick goals from the Kats made it look like an upset might be on the cards but full-forward Shane McIntosh came to his team’s rescue as his four first-half goals put Dampier in control of the game. His goals set the tone for the rest of the game and the Sharks managed a comfortable 13.5 (83) to 6.7 (43) victory. Karratha Kats will now face Wickham in their next match after the Wolves claimed a big 17.10 (114) to 10.8 (68) game over the Karratha Falcons.