Caulfield take down the Bears, as Coburg cause upset of their own

Annie Ireland

With just two rounds of the William Buck Premier Women’s Competition remaining, a big upset for a finals favourite on the weekend has made the race to finals a lot more interesting.

Caulfield Grammarians are making a strong push for home as they come down the straight, with their eyes firmly set on finals. They came out firing and were able to do what only one other has managed this season and knocked off finals favourite Kew. They now find themselves with a handy one-match buffer ahead of Collegians, comfortably in fourth position on the ladder at the conclusion of Round 16.

The 17-point victory could have been a lot more comprehensive, given they kicked six behinds. Kew managed to get plenty of the ball in the first term, scoring 1.7 to give them a narrow lead, in a low-scoring affair. However, accuracy was also an issue for Kew, given the fact they failed to register a score for the rest of the game.

Kew’s singular goal came through Rachael McDonough which saw her appear in the best, whilst it was Olivia Storer who was their best overall. Meanwhile for victors, Caulfield, each of their goals had a different goal kicker. Ellie Cleland was their best, whilst Chloe O’Malley continued her impressive season.

Next weekend, Kew will play Coburg at Piranha Park whilst Caulfield will play Melbourne Uni at their home ground.

Old Scotch had an incredibly dominant victory over Fitzroy on the weekend, keeping them to two goals for the game to record a 65-point victory. The tone for the game was set in the first quarter, when the Cardinals kicked 4.4. They were quieter throughout the second and third quarter, recording three goals in that period, yet a dominant four goal fourth quarter saw them run away with an easy victory.

On a tough day for Fitzroy, Molly Tancred was a shining light with two goals for her team. For the Cardinals, Lucy Morley was evidently best on ground with a four-goal performance, whilst Jade Wise and Mietta Kendall both recorded two goals apiece.

Next weekend, Fitzroy will host Collegians whilst the Cardinals have a bye before a final home and away match in Round 18.

In a low scoring affair on Saturday afternoon, West Brunswick had a 15-point win over Melbourne Uni Women’s. Melbourne Uni were only able to register one goal for the game, coming in the third quarter after they failed to score at all in the first half.

West Brunswick’s 3 goals came off the boots of three different players in what was very much a team effort. It wasn’t until the final term when the Magpies really turned up the heat to score a further 2.1, claiming victory.

West Brunswick will face their toughest challenge next weekend as they take on reigning premiers St Kevin’s at Righetti Oval next weekend, whilst Melbourne Uni will host Caulfield Grammarians.

In the final game of the round on Sunday afternoon, Coburg had a surprise victory over Collegians. This result sees the middle order all tied up on 32-points on the ladder, only separated by percentage.

Coburg’s impressive first half was where the game was won, scoring 34 points by the main break to Collegians’ one goal. However, Collegians found themselves staging a late comeback with 21 points in the second half, managing to slow down the Lions’ scoring.

Claire Cashman and Georgia Sampson both had two goals to their names for the game, whilst it was Teah Stepan who was the best on ground for Coburg. Collegians did not register their goal kickers or best players at the time of writing.

Round 17 will see Collegians travel to Brunswick St Oval to play Fitzroy, whilst Coburg hosts Kew at Piranha Park.