“Champions!”: Whitsunday Premier Men Dominate 2022

Grand Final Day, Saturday, September 17: With two teams in Grand Finals for the first time ever, Whitsunday United Supporters were buzzing with excitement whilst players nervously waited for the action to start.

With the U14 Premiers side playing early in the day and a supporter bus organised for the Premier Men, the tangerine machine was going to be out on force and vocal on the sidelines.

The U14 Premiers took to the field focussed, ready to play and determined to add the Grand Final Trophy to their collection. Unfortunately, lady luck was not wearing orange on Saturday morning and despite one of their best performance all year, the young Whitsunday side fell short of a win.

They started strong, and despite running into a tough headwind, were equal to everything the Crusaders threw at them. The Mackay side scored first and Reef Peel returned the compliment with a great finish to equalise.

The arm wrestle continued till half time and the Whitsunday side was looking good with a 1-1 score and the wind at their back for the second half.

Against the run of play, Crusaders scored an early goal in the second half and despite being camped in front of the Crusaders goal, the Whitsunday side was unable to capitalise on several chances and went down in a nail-biting finish. A genuine contest between two string sides and the U14's have every right to be proud of the Minor Premiership they achieved in 2022.

As the evening drew on, the excitement built for the clash of the day. The matchup between arch rivals Whitsunday and Mackay Lions was eagerly anticipated by the large crowd of supporters and with their team favourite to win, the Whitsunday fans were in full song, adding to the electric atmosphere.

The anticipation was palpable.

After a stellar year in which the Whitsunday Premier Men took out the Minor Premiership, The Championship was within their grasp for the first time ever.

From the opening whistle, the crowd was treated to a fast and physical opening to the match with both sides determined to dominate early, and Lions knowing that a front running Whitsunday side would be impossible to catch.

To the Whitsunday crowd raucous delight it took only 7 minutes for their side to draw first blood through a brilliant strike by Tommy Torzsok off a Ben Smith pass. It was a dream start to the game and Whitsunday started to dominate play with their speed and precision. Scott Ferries and Tommy Torzsok controlling the middle whilst Ben Smith caused havoc up front with a brilliant performance.

The second goal was only 12 minutes later as Harry Hodgen drove forward down the left wing working towards goal, beating his man and cutting back a perfect ball for Francisco Puentes to drive into the net. With a two-goal lead, the Whitsunday freight train was on a roll and continued to pile on the pressure. With only minutes to go in the first half, a perfect Ben Smith long range free kick found the net again but was disallowed.

It didn’t take long for Whitsunday to seal the game in the second half, with Marty Goodey charging down the left-hand side, beating several players and feeding a beautiful ball to Ben Smith who calmly slotted it past the keeper. Players and supporters both went wild with pandemonium breaking out in the technical area with coaches, official, subs and players embracing.

Player awards after the match included Harry Hodgen with the Golden Boot award and Scott Ferries the league’s season MVP. A well-deserved and popular win to top off a great year for Whitsunday.

With the Premier Men leading the way, and strength through all age groups, Whitsunday United is looking forward to 2023 already and is aiming to be the major force in the regional football league for many years to come.

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