Westies hold off Saints, Blues down OGs

Nick Armistead – @NickArmistead

West Brunswick will play in their second consecutive grand final after they bounced back from last weekend’s loss with a hard-fought five-point win over St Mary’s Salesian at McAlister Oval. The blustery conditions made scoring difficult for both sides, with the only two goals kicked for the match coming from Westies Laura Jago and Jessica Malouf in the second term. The Saints dominated possession for a large part of the match but failed to capitalise on the scoreboard as West Brunswick’s defenders stood strong and continually repelled consecutive forward thrusts. Nahkita Wolfe and Melissa Lindsay were outstanding for the Westies, while Tash Rappos and Ruby Svarc found plenty of the ball for the Saints. While the Westies now rest up with the week off, the Saints will play off for a grand final spot against Monash Blues at Elsternwick Park on Sunday.

Monash Blues continued their outstanding recent form with a nine-point elimination final victory over Old Geelong at the Frearson Oval. Leading by three points at half time, the Blues kicked two unanswered goals in the third and gave up just the one on the stretch home in the final quarter. Molly McFarlane kicked two goals up forward for the Blues, while Xanthea Dewez was named best afield for the sixth time this season. Such has been her dominance, Dewez has been named in the best players in every one of her 15 games. Ella Stephenson and Emma Hilton also hit the scoreboard for the Blues, while Kathleen Dunn and Elizabeth Slattery kicked one each for OGs. Elizabeth Graham and Isabel Currenti were standouts despite their side’s loss. The Blues will now face St Mary’s Salesian in next Sunday’s preliminary final after defeating them by 10 points just two weeks ago.