Preliminary Final
Budgewoi v Berkeley Vale
League Champions Budgewoi reap the benefits of their first-place finish, getting another shot at the big dance. However, they are scheduled to face a determined Berkeley Vale side, who look to have a shot at being crowned back-to-back Grand Final winners if they can get past the Budgewoi this Saturday.
Last Sunday marked just the second loss this year for Budgewoi as both losses have come at the hands of Grand Final bound Southern & Ettalong. Their Major-Semi Final meeting lived up to all expectations as the two teams battled for the whole ninety minutes.
The main talking point coming out of that fixture, besides the defeat, is the injury concern amongst the Budgewoi squad who have now lost key players Stuart Adams and Josh Swadling for the remainder of the season.
A standout player for Budgewoi in 2025 Charlie Entwistle is also nursing a worrying injury as the winger started on the bench before making an appearance in the second half and getting through 45 minutes, which will hopefully see him back into the starting eleven come Saturday.
Injuries aside, Budgewoi have a deep squad with quality all over the park, it just wasn’t to be their night last Sunday as Southern scored in the dying moments of the game and deservedly booked their place in this year’s Grand Final.
Nathan Denton was a standout for Budgewoi between the sticks. The goalkeeper kept his side in the game time after time, producing a flurry of exceptional saves.
That was the first time all season Budgewoi failed to record more than two goals in a season as the League Champions will look to right their wrongs this weekend as they hope to get a shot at redemption on the big stage.
The League Champions must now pick themselves up as they meet with last year’s Premiers Berkeley Vale who are coming off a very impressive victory over the Bulls.
“It’s never easy to lose a semi-final like that, especially in the manner it happened,” Voiced Appo. “But the fight and character the group showed after going behind early was something we can build on.”
Budgewoi’s first-place finish marked 17 years since this club was last at the summit of the MPL mountain. Despite being almost two decades ago, Haydn Appo will look to avoid a similar scenario of having his League Champions go out of Finals in straight sets like in 2008.
Budgewoi enter this fixture with bragging rights, having claimed both wins over Berkeley Vale in the winter season, but must be on top of their game when they face this side who have proven to take things to a different level when competition in the Finals.
“Being undefeated against a side like Berka shows the resilience and belief in our group. That gives us confidence, but we won’t be taking anything for granted Saturday night,” stated Appo.
“The message is simple: trust the work we’ve done all season. Big games can create pressure, but if we focus on our structures, our roles, and supporting each other, the rest will take care of itself.”
“For us, the keys will be starting with intensity, staying disciplined in our defensive structure, and making the most of our chances when they come. Finals are decided on the small details, so we need to be switched on for the full 90.”
Berkeley Vale were back to their best last Saturday night in their do-or-die Minor Semi-Final with Kanwal.
A stunning free kick from Nick Trengrove got things underway for the Wombats and Kyle Harvey doubled their score before halftime.
The second stanza saw Jakeb Brownlow secure a hat-trick to put the game out of reach for the Bulls despite a late comeback attempt where the Wombats conceded three goals.
Conor Fitzpatrick was also a standout for the Bats, playing his part in setting up multiple goals for his side as the forward line of Berkeley is clicking at the right time.
Entering Finals with a poor slump of form in front of goals, confidence will be running high within the squad as Mark Pratt details the difference he saw within his team.
“I would say that the biggest difference was our improved energy across the whole group, but I’m not sure that one win means that you can say that the slump in form has been resolved.”
Going back-to-back and winning another Grand Final has been Berkeley’s main goal all season, but despite being one win away from getting the chance to achieve this feat, Pratt stated the Grand Final is the last thing on their minds ahead of this week’s showdown with Budgewoi.
“To be honest we can’t afford to be thinking about the Grand Final. We are playing a team that’s had our measure this year, so we can only try and be at our best against them and see where that takes us.”
Pratt also spoke on the opposition and their previous encounters this season, “Budgewoi easily won the competition and beat us on both occasions comfortably, they must be the outright favourites against us on Saturday night.”
Those meetings saw Berkeley Vale fall 3-2 away from home and had an even worse result at their home ground, losing 4-1 less than a month ago.
Conceding three late goals will also be weighing on the mind of Pratt and his players who can’t afford to have any lapses in concentration when they come up against the best attacking side in the competition.
Pratt knows what is required from his side come Saturday and is confident in his team’s ability to get the job done if they show up with the same liveliness and will to win from last weekend.
“Energy and commitment are what we need. We know that we can play football, but we must compete with enthusiasm.”
Preliminary Final Fixture –
