GAELIC SPORTS WORLD Issue 21 – March 14, 2015 | Page 29

Western Ireland Team. Photo Gaelic Football & Hurling Association of South Australia.

The curtain came down on the South Australia GAA
season on Sunday with the Grand Finals in the Men’s
Hannigan Football Cup and Ladies Finn Football Cup at
St. Mary’s Park in Adelaide.
The ladies Irish Australians Blues side and the men’s St.
Brendans team, both of whom had finished winners of
their respective State Leagues, were the favourites in the
Tom Finn and Hannigan cup finals and both duly obliged
for victorious doubles.
Before Sunday’s big game, the past two weekends were
taken up with the men’s and ladies semi-finals, and last
week’s preliminary finals between the top four finishers
in each code. The latter preliminary category is unique to
South Australia GAA in that the top two in the leagues get
a second chance to make the final in that the losers of 1 v
2 play the winners of 3 v 4.
The first of the Men’s Hannigan Cup semi-finals took
place on Friday evening March 20th at St. Mary’s Park between the State League winner’s St. Brendans and second
placed Western Ireland. This 15 a-side league began back
in mid-October and it has been St. Brendan’s who have
been the form team all through and were fancied here
to hold on to their top billing. The team has quite a few

Australians in the side but hoping to outgun them this
time were Western Ireland who had also shown consistent form in a team with only two Irish players. The game
was a very tight affair with either side in position to win
throughout but it was the more physical St. Brendan’s who
edged a thrilling one point win by 4-7 to 2-12. Western
Ireland did have a chance to tie things at the end but the
young almost all Ozzie side couldn’t take the opportunity.
The second semi-final saw last year’s Hannigan Cup
winners Onkaparinga, who had finished third in the state
league, up against the all Australian, Port Districts. There
was very little between these two in this match and the
score that decided things came in the first half when Port
Districts got a goal from a free and this was enough to
see them into the final on a scoreline of 1-5 to 0-5. The
all Aussie Port District’s side’s defense held strong under
constant pressure from Onkas, who also have a share of
local players.
Two days later on Sunday afternoon it was the turn of
the Ladies Football semis on a very hot day at St. Mary’s
Park. Up first were the favourites the Irish Australian
Blues who were taking on rivals Onkas. There was little
between the sides at half time with the Blues ahead by two
points. The second half continued to be a very close game

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