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ABC News
7 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
WA colts footy teams draw three times in a row in 'one-in-a-million' anomaly
Two country colts football teams in South West WA have drawn for the third time in a row — a statistical feat a mathematician is calling a one-in-a-million event. The Dunsborough Sharks were ahead for almost the entire game on Saturday but a fourth quarter surge gave the Augusta Margaret River (AMR) Hawks the lead. A rushed behind brought the Sharks level in the last minute of play, finishing the game 65 to 65. The result came after two similar deadlocks, with the clubs unable to be separated in both their encounters last season. The South West Football League said it believed the string of results was a first in national football history. He said the two young sides had matched each other goal-for-goal. "In the first round last year it was 8-4 to 8-4, then in the second round it was 9-5 to 9-5, and then on the weekend it was 10-5 to 10-5," he said. Dunsborough only joined the competition in 2022, meaning the teams had played each other a total of seven times. Nearly half of those games have been drawn. Mathematician Adam Spencer said the chances of two teams drawing three times in a row was one-in-a-million. "Across the AFL/VFL, consistently about one per cent of games are drawn … so one in a hundred," he said. "The odds of two draws in a row for the same two teams are one in ten thousand. He said the odds that two teams would draw three games in a row was one in one million. Dr Spencer said it was almost impossible to figure out the exact odds of it having occurred elsewhere in Australia given the sheer number of leagues and levels. But he said, based on the assumption that about 100,000 games were played every year, there was a 95 per cent chance it had never happened before. Dunsborough Colts coach Steve Dale said it took a while to dawn on him what had happened. "Initially I suppose I was disappointed that we didn't actually win the game," he said. "But then of course, we all started looking at the score. Dale said it was the first draw he had been involved in as either a coach or player. He took the reigns of the young Dunsborough side earlier this year, making him their third coach since the start of 2024 — a fact not lost on AMR Colts coach Grant Garstone. "I've seen a different coach every time and yeah I just can't seem to beat them and they can't get me." Garstone said the teams appeared to be very evenly matched, which he speculated could be tied to the fact that both clubs were keen to give younger players a run. "We're playing a lot of kids that should still or could still be playing under 17s or year 11s and 12s now and I think Dunsborough, they must be doing the same," he said. Both agreed Saturday's draw was in many ways the fairest result — Dunsborough having dominated the first half, AMR owning the second. It was the opposite of their previous match-up when Dunsborough came from behind in the last 10 minutes with four goals in a row. But with their next face-off coming up in August, the rival coaches have drawn a line in the sand. "I think there are going to be a lot of people [who] come down and watch it because obviously everyone's hoping for a fourth draw but we want to get a win," Dale said. "I don't want to do four in a row, that's for sure," Garstone said. Dr Spencer said it was so statistically unlikely that he would bet his house the two teams would not draw their next game.
West Australian
03-06-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Hands Oval: Everything you need to know about AFL's newest venue ahead of West Coast Eagles' Bunbury clash
Hands Oval is in South Bunbury, a five-minute drive from Bunbury's city centre, and a two-hour drive south from the Perth CBD. The home of South West Football League powerhouse South Bunbury FC, it's about a half-hour drive north of Busselton Margaret River Airport, which is where North Melbourne will fly into on Friday ahead of Sunday afternoon's clash. Hands Oval's recently-completed upgrades were planned to increase capacity for the game to 15,000 people, though Sunday's crowd may be slightly lower. Around half the crowd will have access to seating, with six temporary grandstands in place alongside the newly-completed 750-seat grandstand building. No. The first batch of general admission tickets were released in March and sold out inside half an hour, with some later smaller releases going just as quickly. Yes. There's been a total of 784 AFL/VFL games in WA, spread across three venues: 545 at Subiaco Oval, 167 at Optus Stadium, and 72 at the WACA Ground. This will be the first regional match for premiership points. Hands Oval is named after former Bunbury mayor J E Hands, who had two stints in charge of the city between 1928-1933 and 1937-1938. Hands Oval has hosted six AFL pre-season games — four involving Fremantle and two featuring West Coast — as well as six WAFL games, an International Rules practice game and a Perth Glory pre-season fixure in 2009. When the cricket pitch was in place, it staged three domestic One Day Cup games between 2009 and 2011, the first of which saw Mitch Marsh become the State's youngest ever player. The typical south-west wind favours the north-east or city end of the ground, which will be left-of-screen when watching Sunday's broadcast. That end produced 15 of the game's 20 goals - and 29 of 40 scoring shots - in the pre-season match between West Coast and North Melbourne in March. Hands Oval will be the 52nd venue to stage an AFL/VFL game, and the 36th in the AFL era (since 1990). Bunbury will replace Subiaco Oval as the western-most location for a game, with China's Jiangwan Stadium the northern-most, New Zealand's Wellington Regional Stadium the eastern-most, and Hobart's Ninja Stadium the furthest south.
West Australian
26-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
SWFL: Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault league and women's sides defeat Eaton
A dominant second half powered Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault to a 74-point victory over Eaton in their South West Football League clash at Glen Huon Reserve on Sunday. The Lions took a four-point lead into the main break after an even first half but added 12 goals in the second while keeping their hosts to only one to claim an 18.13 (121) to 7.5 (47) win. Jai Rout led the way with five goals for the winners, with Brendan Tingey (three goals), Jesse Crichton, Jarrod Humphries and Emmett Templeton (all two) also doing damage in attack. Having not tasted defeat in their four games since coach John Baggetta returned for a second stint at the club, the Lions remain in fourth spot on the ladder. The club's women's side also had a positive result, shutting out Eaton in a 24-point win. A stout defensive performance where the Lions did not allow the hosts to score a single point powered them to a 3.6 (24) to 0.0 (0) victory, their second of the season which has seen them move up to fifth. Young gun Dakota Sexton and Latisha Hough continued standout seasons for the winners, while Julie Geurtjens was their only multiple goal-kicker with two. The Lions had a pair of triple-digit victories over the Boomers in the day's earlier games, winning by 105 points in the colts and 160 points in the reserves.
West Australian
19-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
SWFL: Busselton continue strong start to season with 88-point win over Harvey Bulls
Busselton continued their strong start to the South West Football League season with an 88-point victory over Harvey Bulls at Harvey Recreation Ground on Saturday night. A game between the second-placed visitors and the last-placed hosts shaped as a mismatch and played out in that fashion, with the Magpies dominating from siren to siren in a 18.13 (121) to 5.3 (33) victory. After a promising start to the season in which they came within a goal of beating local rivals Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault in their season opener and lost to Collie by a point in round two, the Bulls have lost their last four games by an average of 89 points. They sit alongside Eaton and Collie as teams with one win for the year, but have a significantly inferior percentage of just 37.46. Dynamic forward Liam Creighton celebrated his 100th game for the Magpies with six goals. Mitchell Cameron, who also kicked six goals, was recognised as the best player afield, continuing a standout start to life at the club in which he has slotted 18 majors in his first five games. Another off-season addition in Ryan Ekert came into the round as the competition's leading goal-kicker but was kept relatively quiet, managing only two. Debutant Jake Chapman was one of few bright spots for the Bulls and was his side's only multiple goal-kicker, with two. The hosts did start the game in fine fashion, winning the first clearance to create an early chance for Hugh Menzies, who kicked truly for the game's first goal inside the opening minute. But the Magpies largely bossed proceedings from there, taking a 25-point lead into the first break, which would have been larger but for inaccuracy in front of goal. Having started the game with five goals from their first 12 scoring shots, Busselton were able to reverse the trend over the remaining three quarters, needing only 20 chances to stack on another 13 majors.
West Australian
28-04-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
SWFL: Bunbury stamp status as women's premiership favourites with 31-point win over Busselton
Bunbury stamped their status as premiership favourites in the South West Football League women's competition with a 31-point win over Busselton at Bovell Park on Saturday. In the first meeting between the sides since last season's grand final, the Bulldogs proved to have too much quality for the Magpies, riding a four-goal to one second half to a 7.5 (47) to 2.4 (16) win. Captain Sarina Tassone (four goals) and star forward Daisy Rigby (three) were unstoppable in attack for the winners, dominating against a Busselton defence which had conceded only two goals in their first two games of the season. Sarah Lang kicked another two goals for the Magpies to maintain her position as the league's leading goal kicker, having slotted nine majors through three games this season. On Sunday, Harvey Bulls' continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 24-point win over Donnybrook at VC Mitchell Park. A strong first half where the visitors kicked all four of their goals for the game while holding their hosts without one proved the difference in a 4.4 (28) to 0.4 (4) result. Emma Faulkner, Tajah Griffiths, Ella Harrison and Megan Minton kicked the goals for the Bulls, while former West Coast Eagle Ella Smith was again prominent for the Dons, continuing a stand-out start to the season. The result has seen the Bulls move ahead of the Magpies into second spot on the ladder ahead of a blockbuster clash with Bunbury on Saturday. South Bunbury recorded their first win of the season in Sunday's other game, beating Dunsborough by eight points. The Tigers did not make the most of their opportunities but weight of numbers saw them come away with a 3.8 (26) to 3.0 (18) victory over the Sharks. Lauren O'Connor was most prominent in attack for the winners, kicking two goals, with Alyssa Giles, Brooke Newman and Yana Guretti named among their best players.
