GNFLW prelim: 2022 grand final rematch between Northampton and Chapman Valley with winner off to big dance

It’s a grand final rematch from last year in this weekend’s preliminary GNFLW final as Northampton face off against Chapman Valley for the chance to take on Brigades in the big dance. While both sides from last year and this year look much different, their ultimate goal of winning the flag has stayed the same. Last year, the Royals were a much more dominant side, coming in as the top team and only dropping one game all season to eventually take down the Rams in the 59-31 premiership match. In 2023, Chapman Valley almost missed out on a finals berth, finishing on equal points with Towns but scraping through with a better percentage to claim fourth spot. Northampton, however, finished their regular season in a better spot than 2022, ending up second, with only three losses to their name during the season. They faced off against a Brigades side who haven’t dropped the ball once this season, and the game was not in the Rams’ favour, as they could only put up a score of 1.3 (9) in the losing effort in last weekend’s qualifying final. Finishing top two means they have a second chance for redemption, but they face a tough test against the Royals, who came out firing in their elimination final and certainly did not play like a team that just scraped in. The defending champs limited the Railways scoring, only letting up one goal the entire game while kicking plenty of their own to walk away with the 57-13 win. The team will now hope to repeat their efforts against Northampton from last year, with only one game standing between them and going back to the grand final. During the home-and-away season it was all Rams football, with the opening round seeing the Royals drop the ball in a 28-0 loss, but their second clash between the teams resulted in a meagre two-point margin. The two sides have not faced off since round six and it could be anyone’s game in the preliminary final. The grand final rematch will take place at 12.45pm on Saturday at the Recreation Ground. In the other preliminary final games at the Rec ground, Northampton colts face off against Brigades colts at 9am, while Brigades reserves take on Mullewa reserves at 11am.