MCC in first gear, House down Two Blues

Meg Saultry

While outside finals contention, Emmaus St Leo’s have proven they are no easy beat by running out five point victors over Yarra Old Grammarians at Bennettswood Sports Ground and thus definitively ending the Bushrangers own hopes of finals. While the Bushrangers had held a slim lead all day, and were in the box seat to continue their finals push, the Animals surged forward to score two final quarter goals to steal the win. Samantha Bridgland was awarded Best on Ground for the Animals, who also boasted solid contributions down forward from five individual goal scorers. Alyssia Blewonski kept the Bushrangers in the hunt with two goals while Courtney Miller also excelled in her role.

Westbourne Grammarians secured a finals berth in sensational fashion, upsetting league leaders Preston Bullants by 47 points at W.R. Ruthven Reserve. The Warriors opened the match with four unanswered goals in an sign that they were not here to mess around. And as they headed into the final quarter eight goals ahead, there was little the Bullants could do to salvage the game.  Lauren Spark and Samantha Radlof were consistent performers down forward for the Warriors with two goals each, while Kate Boland also impressed around the ground. Down the other end, Elyse Scheuermann led the Bullants attack, finishing with two goals, alongside Georgia Freer (1 goal), who was Preston’s best performer for the day. While the result doesn’t upsurge the Bullants off their mantle at the top of the ladder, the Warriors will now feature in finals action, as they sit two wins ahead of fifth with one round remaining.

Second-placed MCC Football Club have shown no indication that they are slowing down in the lead up to finals football, subjecting South Melbourne Districts to a 174-point thrashing at Albert Park Oval on Saturday. MCC’s Alexandra Clayton turned in a star worthy performance with 11 goals, while Anna-Lisa Harris (4 goals) and Cassandra Rowe (2) also performed well. MCC executed all aspects of their game perfectly in the win, defensively holding South Melbourne scoreless while finishing their attempts at goal rather accurately (26.18). Kasey Jaeger was the Bloods best but it was another rough result for the eighth placed side.

Power House continued their good form in this latter part of the season, beating Prahan Assumption by 31 points at Ross Gregory Oval. Power House methodically built their match winning lead across the four quarters, and protectively only let Prahan score any of their majors in the second and third terms. Katelyn Douglass was awarded Best on Ground for the winning side, while Kylie Crowley and Stephanie Bell both slotted two goals each for Power House. Prahan’s Sarah Guest also finished with two majors, while Freba Mohammad Zayee fought hard. Power House hold their spot in the Top 4 after the win, while Prahan remain in sixth.