Finke's premiership footballers could teach AFL strugglers West Coast a thing or two about overcoming long-distance travel.

Almost the whole Indigenous town, long associated with the famous Finke Desert Race, witnessed the best drivers in the APY Football League secure a place in their second consecutive grand final on Saturday.

While motorists in the off-road contest for cars, motorbikes, buggies and quad bikes dig hard through 229 kilometres of deep sandy terrain across two days, the Finke Crows travel hours, often on unsealed roads, from the Northern Territory effectively every second weekend for away games – and all without complaint.

Finke's longest journey has been 750 kilometres – each way, that is – via eyeshot of Uluru to Wingellina across the West Australian border before driving straight back soon after the final siren, making the return trip at least an 18-hour slog on the road.

On grand final day, the trip is just 318 kilometres to Pukatja in the middle of the APY Land.

The Amata Bombers, fighting for South Australian Community pride, hardly have a chance to settle into their seats for a 140-kilometre drive that takes barely two and a half hours, but are no match for the flying Crows.

Three Northern Territorian sides next year, after the re-inclusion of Mutitjulu in addition to the recent return of Wingellina, will make long trips even longer in the most remote Australian rules football competition in the land.

"Introducing those Northern Territory sides has been quite exciting for the competition, and it certainly adds a level of competitiveness as well," SANFL-based Head of Community football Shawn Ford told National Indigenous Times.

"To be the best you have to beat the best and again this year, Finke certainly showed up."

Finke at one stage was sitting outside the top five more than half way through the season.

The Crows conceded the opening two goals of the decider, but would pull away to score an 8.13 (61) to 6.1 (37) victory against Amata Bombers.

"This competition by far and away, geographically, is as broad as it comes," Ford added.

"To have Finke travelling across to places like Wingellina in Western Australia, it is just an absolute mammoth journey to get across there and try and facilitate like all their trips.

"It's pretty impressive to travel back in the dark through those back tracks."

One of Australia's three fully Indigenous competitions, along with the Central Australian Football League Communities competition and the Tiwi Island Football League, it is the only one whose grand final is played on dirt every year.

No wonder Finke felt at ease around this time of the year.

The grand final atmosphere alone is pretty unique to the APY Lands too.

The vocal crowd hovers over the boundary line, the footy-mad kids switch between the goal ends during quarter-time breaks amid other supporters holding specially-designed, team-coloured streamers just for the game to a backdrop of the incessant sound of beeping car horns after every goal.

"The day is just different to other country sporting days," Ford said.

"It does bring entire Communities together – the grand final is one of their centrepieces of the year.

"Even the kickoff to the week in, the Communities of the grand final sides paint up their cars (in team colours) and it's right up there with the Tiwi Islands grand final.

"It continues to gain traction no matter what Communities, everyone is keen to turn up for it.

"The crowds are always big and the supporters turn out for the guards of honours when the teams run out with their full Community."

The SANFL administers the Indigenous competition that is located somewhere around 1200 to 1500 kilometres from Adelaide.

But the APY Football League is not governed by the same rules and regulations like all other South Australian country competitions, where this Community has their own by-laws that are updated and managed by local Aṉangu football leaders.

"That certainly something that we're very proud of and we're really keen to continue on with into the future," Ford said.