Report by Football West
Caitlin Doeglas was the hero of the CTF Women’s State Cup final on Saturday as Balcatta Etna beat Perth Azzurri 3-0 at the Sam Kerr Football Centre.
The 2026 Golden Boot winner fired home a second-half hat-trick as Balcatta blew away their big rivals after the break.
Former A-League striker Doeglas, who joined Balcatta at the start of the season, deservedly took the Sandra Brentnall Medal for Player of the Match as Etna made up for their loss in last year’s final to Fremantle City.
She said: “That is incredible – you don’t score a hat-trick in a final every day! I’m just so beyond proud of the girls, coming out in that second half and we buried them.”
Doeglas opened the scoring on 54 minutes in typically clinical fashion. Zoee Spadano fed in a pass to Jamie-Lee Gale, who squared for Doeglas to side-foot crisply across keeper Dayle Schroeder and into the far corner.
“That came off my boot so sweetly, I’m so stoked,” she said.
Her second arrived 14 minutes later and it was far too easy from an Azzurri viewpoint. They turned the ball over twice when looking to play out, allowing Doeglas to latch on to Gale’s header and score.
Doeglas confirmed her position as the competition’s premier goalscorer right at the end as she completed her hat-trick.
As Azzurri chased a route back into the game, Balcatta keeper Rebecca Bennett went long, and Mia Britton flicked on a header for Doeglas to chase. Although Schroeder partially saved her shot, it had too much power and flew goalwards and across the line.
Azzurri must now dust themselves down and try to rediscover their form before they face the same opposition this week in the major semi-final of the Top Four Cup.
They went into Saturday’s final as back-to-back New Balance NPL champions. But after a 17-game unbeaten start to the season, they failed to win any of their last four league matches, a run that included three defeats. This enabled Etna to end the league season just a point behind.
They did hold their own in a goalless first half in which the two teams largely cancelled each other out.
Balcatta skipper Abbey Meakins thought she had given her team the lead but was on the wrong end of a tight offside call, while the best chance of the opening period fell to Azzurri’s Ruby Marshall in stoppage time but she sliced her shot wide after being set up by Jess Flannery.
Etna made the most of that let-off and gave their opponents a lesson in finishing.
The victory was fully merited for Pete Rakic’s side, who have now beaten Azzurri in three successive finals following the last two Night Series deciders.
“It just makes it extra sweet,” Doeglas said. “Coming first is our priority … we beat them today and that’s all that counts.”
– Football West would like to acknowledge the Construction Training Fund as the naming rights partner of the Women’s State Cup and thank CTF Industry Training Advisor Diana Nguyen-Ha who assisted Football West Director Richard Marshall with the medal presentation.
