Semi’s see the Stars knock out the Lions

Annie Ireland

Week one of finals for the William Buck Premier Women’s competition saw Old Scotch, Collegians, Kew and St Kevin’s all fighting for premiership glory on neutral territory at Piranha Park. St Kevin’s are looking to defend their reigning premiership, Kew are looking to avenge last year’s finals heartbreak whilst Old Scotch and Collegians find themselves in the finals for the first time in the William Buck Premier Women’s competition.

Old Scotch really flexed their muscles on Saturday afternoon, defeating Collegians by 31 points. The Cardinals’ defence was a crucial part of their game, holding Collegians scoreless for the entire first half whilst they piled on 3.5.

Collegians showed why they have been such a good side this year in the third quarter, coming out after the main break with a bang. The purple army scored three goals, whilst also holding Old Scotch scoreless to go into the final break with a thrilling fourth quarter ahead.

In the end, it was Scotch who pulled through in a massive last quarter, scoring 4.2 to power away with a win which sees them through to the preliminary final.

Lucy Morley was impressive for Scotch with four goals to her name to feature in the best, whilst Emily Joyce, Thea Wischusen and Millie Fraser-Smith all contributed on the scoreboard. However, it was Isabella Gray who was the best on ground. Collegians did not list their goalkickers or best players at the time of writing.

St Kevin’s suffered a defeat on the weekend at the hands of Kew, who flew straight to the Grand Final off the back of a 17-point victory in the Semi Final. It was a slow starting first half, with Kew only scoring two behinds to half time whilst St Kevin’s were held scoreless.

However, St Kevin’s came out swinging in the third quarter with 2.3 to Kew’s 1.2 and whilst it was anyone’s game going into the final quarter, it appeared as though St Kevin’s once again had the upper hand.

Yet, it was the final quarter which surprised everyone, with Kew kicking four goals to St Kevin’s singular behind to secure their third win over their biggest competitor this season. 

Catherine Stanton took her goal kicker tally for the year to 27 goals, whilst Grace Mills also hit the scoreboard for St Kevins. Abigail Bloom was their best on ground. For Kew, it was Rachael Mcdonough, Amy Kane, Ashlea Melnikas, Olivia McLennan and Grace Osborne who hit the scoreboard, whilst Lily Barr was their best for the second time this season, having been second best on when Kew and St Kevin’s played earlier in the season.

Next week, we will see Old Scotch and St Kevin’s face off in the preliminary final as St Kevin’s secured the double chance. Kew will go straight through to the grand final, with the winner of the prelim to face them. Last season, St Kevin’s proceeded to the grand final after winning the preliminary final to play Kew, so it’ll be interesting to see if the same scenario plays out once again.