Illawarra Credit Union District League

First Grade

Today’s fixture pits Warilla Wanderers against Picton Rangers in the Illawarra Credit Union District League’s 2014 decider.

This will be Warilla’s fourth consecutive Grand Final and have cruised into the fixture with two comfortable wins in the finals after finishing in second spot during the year.

Wanderers and Picton, who finished in third, faced off in the Qualifying Final three weeks ago and Warilla will take confidence from their 3-0 win on that day.

More impressive was Warilla’s dismantling of the League Championship winning Shell Cove FC in their major semi-final where they ran out spectacular 5-0 winners.

After their defeat in the qualifying final, Picton went on to beat Corrimal Rangers in their semi-final 3-0 and went one better last week by downing Shell Cove by the same margin.

During the season the two sides met twice, with Picton winning the first game 3-1 before Warilla bounced back with a 2-1 win in the second round.

Wanderers and Rangers were two of the competition’s highest scoring teams and fans can expect goals in this one.

Warilla boss Barney King has experience on his side as he enters his eighth grand final in nine years while Picton’s Brett Morley has his team firing at the right time of the year.

Key Players: Picton’s Benjamin Roberts top goal scorer with 16 this season and there’s no doubting Rangers will need his attacking talents if they want to overcome Warilla. Scott Friedewald will do the scheming for the Wanderers and he will be looking to set up Luke Greathead who has been in fine form himself where it counts most, in front of goals.

Referee: Bobby Mazevski 

Assistant Referee’s: Nathan Wotton & Kyle Herbert 

4^th Official: John Ruscica

Reserve Grade

League Champions Balgownie Rangers will face off against runners-up Thirroul FC in the 2014 District League Reserve Grade decider.

Balgownie only needed to win one game to qualify for the final when they beat their Grand Final opponents Thirroul 1-0 in the major semi-final two weeks ago.

The Thunder took the long road to the final, first beating Picton Rangers 2-1 in their qualifying final before the loss to Balgownie and last weekend overcame Corrimal Rangers 3-1 on penalties when the fixture finished 0-0 after extra time.

When the two sides met this season each club came away with a win, with Balgownie first earning a 2-0 victory before Thirroul answered back with a 3-1 win in the second round.

The top two sides were incredibly potent in front of goal during the season with Rangers finding the net 97 times and Thirroul scoring a phenomenal 100 goals.

Balgownie’s Joshua Faulks had an incredible scoring season, netting 33 times for the League Champions and will be a dangerous factor in the Grand Final.

Both clubs were no slouches in defence either with Balgownie conceding 20 goals and Thirroul giving up just 18.

There was hardly a ‘struck match’ between the sides in the Major Semi and this one should be equally as tight with possibly extra time required to decide the winner

Referee: Matthew Lopez 

Assistant Referee’s: Stuart Bell & Michael Bell 

4^th Official: Mick Agim

Youth Grade

It’s as expected in the 2014 Illawarra District League Youth Grade Grand Final with League Champions Thirroul FC taking on the runner-up Corrimal Rangers.

Despite winning the league by 10 points, Thirroul were forced to qualify the hard way when they went down 2-1 to Corrimal in their major semi-final two weeks ago after Corrimal had beaten Wests Illawarra 3-1 in their qualifying final.

The Thunder bounced back to beat Warilla Wanderers 2-1 in the Grand Final qualifier last weekend and book their place in the decider.

Despite the semi-final defeat, Thirroul will take confidence from their regular season performances after they beat Corrimal in both meetings by a margin of 2-0 and 5-4 respectively.

If history tells us anything, it’s that there are goals to be scored in this match with both clubs hitting over 100 goals during the year.

Referee: Blake Herbert 

Assistant Referee’s: Scott Boon & Michael Kusi-Appauh 

4^th Official: Greg Reid

Illawarra Mercury Premier League

First Grade

In this weekend’s big fixture it’s the League Championship winners Bulli FC facing off against the second placed Dapto Dandaloo Fury.

It’s only right that the two teams who battled it out for the League Title all season are locking horns once more in the 2014 Illawarra Mercury Premier League Grand Final.

Dapto Dandaloo and Bulli have created a healthy rivalry over the last few seasons characterised by exciting tactical battles and plenty of goals.

This will be Bulli’s third consecutive Grand Final appearance and after breaking their 26 year wait for a championship they’ll be hoping they can go one better in the finals after finishing runners-up in both 2012 and 2013.

Bulli needed just a single win to qualify for the decider after downing Dapto Dandaloo 3-0 in their major semi-final two weeks ago.

The Fury have done it the hard way this post-season with come from behind 2-1 wins over Wollongong United and Port Kembla either side of the loss to Bulli.

There will be three former A-League players suiting up for the clash with Dean Heffernan (Bulli), Noel Spencer and Alvin Ceccoli (Dapto Dandaloo) providing plenty of big time experience for their respective teams.

The two clubs shared the spoils when they met during the season proper with Dapto Dandaloo winning the first game 3-2 before Bulli earned a crushing 5-0 victory in the second half of the season.

Bulli head coach Ben Smith has guided the club to three grand finals in three years and looks to have his team ready to go one better this season while Dapto Dandaloo’s Noel Spencer faces the tricky task of coaching his side from the field but the wily veteran isn’t short on football wisdom.

Both teams enjoy possession of the ball and an efficient build up from front to back and we’re likely to see as much a mental battle as a physical one on the pitch.

Key Players: Dean Heffernan has been outstanding for Bulli since signing mid-season and the former A-League man will play a pivotal role for the League Champions. Bulli’s season has been characterised by some fantastic performances as a unit that they owe to a squad with an excellent combination of youth and experience.

Dapto Dandaloo will be looking to their former Australian top tier players in Alvin Ceccoli and Noel Spencer to provide a steadying hand on the big day. If a spark is to come from anywhere it will likely be young striker Shaun McRae who provides the goods with a number of dazzling individual moments from the speedster in the season proper; including a stunning individual effort in the Grand Final qualifier against Port Kembla last weekend.

Referee: Andrew Naylor

Assistant Referee’s: Lachlan Keevers & Alycia Mears

4^th Official: Steve Bozic

Youth Grade

Much like the first grade fixture it’s the League Champions against the Runners-Up battling it out in the 2014 Youth Grade decider.

Bulli ran away with the League Championship this season, finishing a full 11 points clear of their Grand Final opponents Wollongong United.

The impressive Bulli outfit have already won three of the four trophies available to them this season and will make a special day for the club if they can lift the trophy along with their First Grade compatriots.

Bulli needed just a solitary goal to qualify for the Grand Final with their 1-0 win over Dapto Dandaloo Fury in the major semi-final.

Wollongong United did it tough in their post-season starting with a 2-0 loss to Dapto Dandaloo in the qualifying final but United bounced back to beat Fernhill 3-1 in their semi-final before demolishing the Fury 4-0 in the Grand Final qualifier last weekend.

The League Champions finished the season with the most goals (90) and least conceded (16) in an impressive campaign where they only suffered one defeat.

Results during the regular season point to a tight affair on Grand Final day with a 2-2 draw and then a narrow 2-1 victory in favour of Bulli.

Key Players: Wollongong United had two outstanding goal scorers during the season with Nikola Ristevski and Kyle Del scoring 12 and 10 goals respectively. The two youngsters will need to be in form if they want to break down the sturdy Bulli defence in the decider.

Bulli had their own goal scoring wizards this season as Dylan Lewis and Brendan Pattman finished as the competition’s joint top scorers with 18 strikes a-piece.

Referee: Adam Naylor 

Assistant Referee’s: Chris Munn & Nicholas Ryan 

4^TH Official: Anthony Vella