St Kilda’s Community Wheelchair Football League team has snared Premiership honours in the division’s first season, defeating Richmond Community by 25 points to claim its first piece of silverware.
Goal-scoring machine Sebastian Welsh - named best-on-ground - starred with eight of his side’s nine goals at Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre, guiding the red, white and black towards the 9.6 (60) to 5.5 (35) triumph.
Welsh’s 61 goals for the season - plus another 40 for the club’s senior VWFL side for a 101-goal return in 2023 - proved critical in the Saints’ top-two finish in the home-and-away season.
St Kilda defeated Richmond in last fortnight’s qualifying final to advance to the big dance, and in similar style to the preceding encounter, held the Tigers goalless in the third term to build out their match-winning buffer.
Led by captain and vice-captain Caitlyn Alger and Jeremy O’Halloran, Richmond were starved of scoring opportunities, with the Saints’ sturdy defence able to run defence into attack through the connecting work of Piers Wall and Mark Walker through the midfield.
The Tigers mounted a brief charge late with three majors in the final term, yet the Saints’ earlier work was a bridge too far to overcome.
The Saints fielded 10 players in its CWFL team, the highest number of players in the competition, with all contributing in the Grand Final victory.
Across St Kilda’s other community teams, the VWFL side missed out on finals action to finish the season with a 4-8 record; a one-point loss to Collingwood in the last game of the season denying a certain September berth.
Meanwhile, the club’s Victorian Blind Football League side dipped out on Grand Final action following a semi-final loss to Hawthorn Gold the week prior.
Shannon Jones’ charges won four games for the season to finish in second place, however missed out on a third straight Grand Final appearance with the Hawks proving too strong.
ST KILDA COMMUNITY 1.3 3.5 7.6 9.6 (60)
RICHMOND COMMUNITY 0.2 2.4 2.4 5.5 (35)
Goals: Welsh 8, Walker
Best: Welsh, Alger, Wall, O'Halloran
St Kilda 2023 CWFL Premiers
Caitlyn Alger (captain)
Jeremy O'Halloran (vice-captain)
Mark Walker
Ben Vanraay
Katherine Simmons
Ashleigh Chambers
Nathan Tanner
Piers Wall
Sebastian Welsh
Daniel Fatouros
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VWFL Results | 2023 Robert Rose Foundation Victorian Wheelchair Football League
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CWFL Results | 2023 Robert Rose Foundation Community Wheelchair Football League
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VBFL Results | 2023 Victorian Blind Football League
