Kew’s wall of defence holds while Melbourne Uni live to fight another day

It was a slow start to the game with Kew and Caulfield Grammarians as both teams took time to adjust to the conditions. Stoppages and tackling were going to be the themes for the game with the heavy ground making a running game difficult.

With the troubling conditions it was an important start for Kew. Caulfield weren’t going to go down easily, getting the next centre clearance and going straight into their forward line. With a strong kick at goal, Caulfield scored the equaliser to swing momentum their way. As the wind picked up in the second quarter Kew tried to take advantage but were unable to kick straight early on. Accuracy continued to be an issue for goal scoring with conditions hampering the game but Kew would go into halftime with a small lead.  

The third quarter saw Caulfield change tactics and have their own spare player floating across the ground. This worked as it slowed down the run of Kew and changed the pace of the game. From here the game continued to play out on ground level with lots of stoppages in the third term. No team was able to get a stronghold on the play, this resulted in no score from either team and a set up of a thrilling finish. 

The Caulfield defence continued to stand up to the challenges from Kew and stop kicks from impacting the score board. Kew were able to score more points as the quarter went on which was enough for them to extend their lead over Caulfield. The marking that Kew is known for continued, every time Caulfield would try and break through into their attacking half someone from Kew was there to intercept a kick or force a mistake for a turnover. The congested football continued for the rest of the quarter but Kew were able to hold on to their lead and get a victory to advance to the next final against St Kevins.

With conditions not really improving as the day unfolded Melbourne University Women faced off against West Brunswick at Downer Oval in Williamstown. The opening half resulted in no goals being kicked and Melbourne Uni holding a one point lead at the main change. A tight, contested affair was taking place. It was a matter of which team was going to breakthrough the pressure first and hit the scoreboard.

Hannah Smith was the one to do just that for MUWFC in the third term. The only goal of the day. Enough to kick them clear and hold on in the final quarter to give them the win by 6 points. Advancing them to the minor semi-final this weekend against Caulfield Grammarians.

The winner of this game will continue on to the Preliminary Final while the winner of Kew and St Kevin’s will advance to the Grand Final in 2 weeks time.