Footscray defeated Southport by ten points in the 2025 VFL Grand Final at Ikon Park on Sunday.
It is third time in four years the Sharks have lost the VFL Grand Final, going down 14.5 (89) to 11.13 (79).
Footscray got off to an unbelievable start kicking the first six goals of the match.
Southport steadied late in the opening quarter and went on to kick the next four goals to cut the margin to ten points halfway through the second quarter.
The Bulldogs surged again though, kicking four unanswered goals late in the term to lead by 35 points at half time.
Despite being six goals down in wet conditions, the Sharks did not give up the fight kicking four goals to zero in the third quarter to only trail by six points at the last change.
It only took two minutes in the final term for the Sharks to draw level with the Bulldogs, however, then Footscray kicked three goals in a row.
With half a quarter to go, the Sharks gave everything to come back kicking two of the last three goals of the game, but it was too little too late.
Footscray’s Cooper Craig-Peters won the Norm Goss Medal for best on ground with 28 disposals, eight tackles and a goal.
Southport’s Boyd Woodcock came second in the voting for the medal with 31 disposals and three goals.
After the game Southport Coach Matthew Primus said, “In the end we got beaten by a team that was better than us over the four quarters.”
“We didn’t quite capitalise on our opportunities when we were controlling the game and they were just a bit cleaner going forward than us.”
“Although, we didn’t have a good first half, I’m proud of the boys that they were able to bounce back and get momentum against the best team in the competition.”
“We spoke at half time about trusting that we could bounce back and the boys showed great fortitude and belief in themselves in the second half.”
“It was really impressive to come back from what they were down against the best team in the comp. I am just gutted for the effort that the players have put in.”
“They have done a great job to get themselves back into a Grand Final. Yes, we didn’t get the ultimate success, but we have seen a huge amount of growth this year.”
“We should be really proud of everything we have achieved this year, and our foundations are really strong, so we will go again.”
“I want to thank everyone who has contributed to the program. We have terrific staff from coaches to operations, high performance and medical.”
“Our board and management team are also very supportive, which is really important.”
“We are a resilient group. We will have a good break and then come November we will be ready to go.”
“Thank you also to everyone who has supported us this year. It felt like we had great support at home and on the road. We really appreciated it and look forward to seeing you at the footy next year.”
VFL Grand Final – Footscray v Southport
FOOTSCRAY 6.1 10.3 10.4 14.5 (89)
SOUTHPORT 1.3 4.4 8.10 11.13 (79)
BEST PLAYERS: Boyd Woodcock, Jacob Dawson, Jesse Joyce, Zac Foot, Hewago Oea
GOAL KICKERS: Boyd Woodcock 3, Wylie Buzza 2, Zac Foot 2, Hewago Oea 2, Hugh Dixon, Josh Gore
