Country Championships: Proud Great Southern Storm coach Darrell Panizza lauds third-place finish in colts comp

Proud Great Southern Storm coach Darrell Panizza could not be happier with his side’s performance at the Nutrien Ag Solutions Country Football Championships after narrowly missing the grand final by percentage. After a dramatic second day of matches the Storm, representing the Great Southern Football League, finished with a win-loss record of 3-1 but fell agonisingly short of a 2024 decider, missing out by just 17 per cent. They defeated the eventual premiers Peel — the only team to do so — on the final day but Peel and South West had the superior percentage and reached the grand final. Despite falling short of the big dance, Panizza said it was a brilliant tournament for his side which had been developing over the past year. “I couldn’t have asked for any more, it was a very good outcome,” he said. “So really at the end of the day, we were the only team to beat Peel and it was one of the better carnivals we’ve been to. “Twelve months ago we had a lot of young kids in the squad and they were 17 and 18-year-olds and that’s where we have got our growth from. “We only took six 19-year-olds which goes to show our growth from the bottom coming through. “Everyone one of the 27 we took away played as a team, they were exceptional.” The Storm’s fantastic carnival was recognised with Teague Valli, Ryan Lazar, Mitchell Paine and Harvey Taylor all selected in the all-stars team. “After missing last year through injury, Teague (Valli) did an exceptional job on the wing and Harvey Taylor was on the other wing. “So having both winges selected shows we had very good connection between our backline to our forward line. “We moved Mitch Paine through the midfield he was able to continually drive the ball out of midfield and Ryan Lazar was one of our better goalscorers.” Panizza said that following their impressive performance in the tournament and their appearance in the Great Southern Colts Carnival grand final in Kulin earlier this year, the program is in a very promising position. “From the whole Storm program we’ve really had a huge year and I think our junior footy is going extremely well,” he said. “We have good representation at league level and I can’t remember a tournament where we have done so well. “The growth in these players has been great and it’s very exciting for the program.”