Katrina Fanning Shield: Major Semi Final Preview

The West Belconnen Warriors and Belconnen United Sharks face off on Saturday afternoon at Seears Workwear Oval, as they look to be the first team to punch their ticket into the Katrina Fanning Shield Grand Final. 

The West Belconnen Warriors enter the major semi-final as minor premiers, after going through the regular season suffering one defeat, with outside back Gabby Savage saying it's been an enjoyable season to date. 

"This year being one of the youngest in the team, I've enjoyed the season. Coming into the finals knowing that, we have the big bodies to do the job, so it’s just now for this final's series, to put it on and show everyone,” Savage said. 

The Warriors secured a comprehensive win against the Bulls last weekend, however, were made to work for it in the first half with Savage being aware of the next job for the squad. 

“I think as a group we understand the next job now is to execute. With the Bulls game we were all out of place, so we just need to find our game and stick to it."

The Warriors suffered defeat against the Sharks only a fortnight ago, with the side from West Belconnen excited at the opportunity to face them again. 

"Sharks are a very competitive team, and we enjoy that as opponents. Coming into this game I think, we need to focus on our game and nothing more."

"Obviously, they have some great and fast players, but if we get on that front foot, it’s our game.”

Despite finishing as minor premiers, the Warriors still feel that there is so much to prove, and improvement left in them. 

"Our team feeds off the pressure, we feel like we have so much more to prove. We haven’t reached our full potential as a team yet, so coming into this next week, it’s definitely going to be something to watch.”

Meanwhile, the Belconnen United Sharks bounce into the finals after an impressive fortnight, which saw them defeat the Warriors and Rams in consecutive weeks. 

With Sharks captain Ella Kelly, stating this was crucial for the team heading into the finals. 

"I think versing the top two teams in the last two weeks of the finals was really good for us heading into finals,” Kelly said. 

This is the first time the Belconnen United Sharks have featured in the Katrina Fanning Shield finals, with the key being the groups connection. 

“We went into this year not with a goal to win or make finals, but the goal was to join together as a team.”

This goal is something they will look to continue heading into this weekend, with the side not looking any further than Saturday afternoon. 

“We haven’t made an end goal; it’s just been a new thing to focus on each week which has been really good and really easy to remember.”

This Saturday's edition of the Belconnen derby will be the most important in the short history of the Katrina Fanning Shield matchup as the winner will earn the week off and entry in the 2025 Grand Final, whilst the loser will face the winner of the Rams and Magpies.