In a day of surprising results, Bodalla all-age men upset minor premiers Batemans Bay 3-0, while Narooma all-age ladies overpowered defending premiers Clyde United 4-1.

As Bodalla coach Mal Gilham explains, his team had been plotting Batemans Bay’s downfall for a fortnight.

“We did our homework on the Bay, and the manager and I sat down and worked out a plan to beat them,” he said.

“Playing them three times in the last month gave us a really good look at them. We knew that they were really strong with their set plays, and we worked out a defensive structure to counter them, and this changed the match and gave us more confidence in attack.”

Gilham said his team did their job to a man.

“Everyone played a good game and I couldn’t pick a man of the match,” he said.

Batemans Bay all-age mens’ coach Tony Pezzementi wasn’t making any excuses for the loss.

“We were completely outplayed,” he said.

“Bodalla were hungrier and thoroughly deserved their win.”

Batemans Bay had only lost two other games during the year.

“We were the most consistent team all season, but we certainly played our worst game of the year. We couldn’t put more than two passes together,” Pezzementi said.

Pezzementi said inexperience may have played a role in the loss.

“I think the occasion got to the young fellas, and they were overwhelmed.”

The season is not over for Batemans Bay, as they will contest round one of the Champion of Champions competition against a Granville Football Association team at Gundary Oval this Sunday.

“Hopefully we can salvage some pride from the season,” Pezzementi said.

Narooma all-age ladies played a similar game to the semi-final a fortnight before the grand final to beat minor premiers Clyde United.

Narooma coach John Corbacho said his team placed an emphasis on teamwork and shutting down key Clyde players Renee Coubrough and Alison Ryan.

“We were all over the shop early in the game, but in the second 20 minutes we got back on track,” he said.

“Our strikers did their job; the shots they did have at goal were accurate.”

The Narooma girls train three times a week, and this was evident towards the end of the game.

“I think our fitness told in the end.”

Corbacho said Clyde United deserved credit for their effort.

“All credit to Clyde, they gave it a go,” he said.

For Clyde, Jemma Casey rolled her ankle before the match, and Lynda Jenner was suffering from the flu, but coach Peter Gowen wasn’t making any excuses.

“Narooma are a damn good, strong team and they were much better on the day,” he said.

Gowen was happy with his team’s performance.

“No one gave up; they all held out to the end and I couldn’t have expected any more from them,” he said.

As minor premiers, Clyde United will also contest round one of the Champion of Champions competition at Gundary Oval this weekend.