Ponsonby Fillies have had a rough run the last few seasons. Photo / Photosport.nz
The Ponsonby Fillies are impelled to earn their first club title since 2020 following a number of glitches in the past few seasons.
The Fillies take on College Rifles in what they are hoping is “third time lucky” in claiming the Auckland Women’s Premier final on Saturday - also known as the Coleman Shield.
The epic showdown of two top Auckland clubs is filled with “rich rivalry”.
Eloise Blackwell, the Ponsonby captain, has seen her side lose “at the final hurdle” the past few years by just three points. This year she’s adamant she doesn’t want her team “falling short” again.
“Falling short in the last two years and by three points too, it leaves like a bad taste in your mouth.”
The former Black Fern and Blues lock told the Herald: “For me personally, that’s something that I want to look to rectify.”
Taking back the trophy for the first time since 2020 won’t be an easy feat for the Fillies, who head into the grudge match as underdogs - College Rifles beating them 44-24 in the first round of the season and finishing top of the table.
Blackwell says her side will need to stay focused for the full 80.
“It’s just making sure that we do stay in it for the full duration of the game – especially in finals,” Blackwell said. “They can be won or lost in crucial moments and it could be as simple as not catching a ball.
“That could be what defines the match.”
Another driver for Blackwell is knowing what her club has been through this season and the struggles they’ve faced without a base due to the Auckland flood damage earlier this year.
“It’s been pretty hard,” said Blackwell. “Not having access to a club room after games or even just a meeting point for all the teams – it’s been quite difficult.
“I guess that’s kind of just added to the season and one of the focuses for us is just making sure that we’ve been really tight off the field,” said Blackwell. “Although we don’t have this central meeting point, we’re still able to try and work on those connections at training.
“We’ve got a lot of teams at our club and there’s not a lot of field space, especially in Auckland around our area – so, that’s been tough.
“But we’ve, we’ve had to make do, which is what we’ve [women] done now for as long as I can remember at our club – we are used to change.
“The girls walk towards challenges and we just keep growing and growing”
In April, the Herald reported about the Western Springs-based club being forced to relocate after serious flooding destroyed their prestigious clubhouse. At the time, life member and All Blacks legend Sir Bryan “BG” Williams was “devastated” by the damage to the club’s facilities.
“It’s pretty soul-destroying to be honest,” Williams said. “When I saw it I cried.”
Blackwell said winning the competition for Williams would be something special.
“When you’ve got greats like Brian Williams coming down and speaking to the team and just talking about the hurt that those older life members are feeling.
“We’ve got a lot of love and respect for BG and just to see like, see the hurt and the despair and just knowing that a lot of our memorabilia from a long time ago has been destroyed or wrecked – just seeing that, hits hard.”
Blackwell said with this in mind, they’ll play for not only themselves and their whanāu but their club also.
Both sides will be left without their Black Fern stars who left for Australia on Thursday for their upcoming Pacific Four Series and O’Reilly Cup. College Rifles lose Ruahei Demant and Maiakawanakaulani Roos, and the Filies are without Sylvia Brunt.
2021 Rugby World Cup Champion, Charmaine McMenamin – unavailable for a recent Black Fern selection due to injury – will be on the squad list however for Ponsonby.
“It’s a huge, huge asset for us,” said Blackwell. “She’s been playing for the squad for a very long time and she’s a very experienced player.
“She’s been in finals at every single level you can think of and just having her experience on the field is going to be huge for our team because we’ve got such a young squad.”
Blackwell knows full well of the capability and threats her opposition brings.
“A lot of the girls, you know, we’ve played alongside each other in different teams throughout the years.
“So there are a lot of friendships – It’s like a real love-hate relationship between both squads. But at the same time, there’s a lot of respect for each other.
“There’s gonna be some, some huge matchups across the park on Saturday,” Blackwell said. “I think it’s going to be one for the books.”
The final kicks off at 2.45pm on Saturday at College Rifles Park. The match marks 26 years of the Coleman Shield.
Bonnie Jansen is a Multimedia Journalist in the NZME Sports team. She’s a keen footballer and has worked with the Alternative Commentary Collective before joining the Te Rito cadetship scheme.