'Disappointed': Women's football grand final shifted to Mortlake

While finals will be played at the Reid Oval this weekend, the grand finals will instead be played at Mortlake's DC Farran Oval on Sunday, July 21.

South Warrnambool under 18s coach Ryan Jones said the players were disappointed to not be playing at the Reid Oval and it was a missed opportunity to put the spotlight on women's football.

He said the switch was a fixturing issue with the scheduled boys games, but he hoped the women would be back in Warrnambool for next year's grand finals.

"It wasn't the fact that it was at Mortlake, it's the fact that it wasn't at the Reid Oval," Jones said.

"To them it's a grand final and you want to be front and centre.

"The players are disappointed."

Jones said the players wanted women's football to grow and there had been a boost in their under 15s numbers.

He said some of the top-aged players have had to play footy with the boys, but for the past three or four years in a stand-alone women's competition.

"They've at times probably felt, and rightly so, that they've been a lesser priority," Jones said.

But he said the game hadn't been moved because it's a lesser game, or they don't want the girls on show it's purely a fixture issue.

He said when the draws were done at the start of the season, they had to be redone a number of times, and the women's grand final had been overlooked.

Jones said everyone in the women's competition assumed they would be playing at the Reid Oval because that was what has happened in the past, and the change should have been communicated earlier.

He said the players were pumped for this weekend.

Western Victoria Female Football League administrator Trent Hill says the decision to host the upcoming grand finals at Mortlake instead of Warrnambool's Reid Oval came down to two factors.

While Hill admitted the league would have preferred to host the under 15, under 18 and senior women's grand finals at Reid Oval, Hampden league junior boys matches scheduled at the venue on the day meant it was not possible.

He also believed balancing the geographical landscape of the league ensured an even playing field for all participants and volunteers.

Warrnambool hosts Camperdown in under 12, under 14 and under 16 boys matches on the day.

"We would have loved to play the grand final at the Reid Oval, but unfortunately Warrnambool have got those junior matches scheduled for that weekend," he told The Standard.

"The other thing to remember is that it is the Western Victoria Female Football League. We want to ensure all the regions are looked after as well.

"Ideally, the Reid Oval would have been our preference but it's unavailable so we've needed to look at what the best possible outcome can be.

"Mortlake's a great facility, great surface and it's in the zone. Terang Mortlake has played some home games there as well. We don't want to just be Warrnambool centric, we want to share the opportunities for all clubs and stakeholders involved.

"Reid Oval was the preference but we do need to look at the geographical location, we're so widespread with teams coming from Warrnambool, Hamilton, Portland, Tyrendarra, Cavendish, Horsham, Terang Mortlake, so we're trying to find that right balance."