At the completion of Round 8 in the William Buck Premier Women’s competition, the top four appear to be secure, with Collegians solidifying their position to move six points and percentage clear of 5th placed Caulfield Grammarians.
The first match of the round saw Caulfield Grammarians host ladder-leading Old Scotch, in what presented a great opportunity for Caulfield to cause a big upset and announce themselves to the competition as a serious finals contender for the 2024 season.
However, Old Scotch were relentless right from the first bounce, registering the first four majors of the day to take a 21-point lead into the first break. By half time, the margin stretched out to 65 points and the siren couldn’t sound quickly enough for Caulfield in what was proving to be a non-contest.
After taking the chance to reset, Caulfield fought gallantly to break even with Old Scotch in the second half, with each side registering an additional 17 points.
While Caulfield will be disappointed by their output on the day which allowed Old Scotch to kick their highest score of the season so far, Chloe McDonald and Brigitte Wolhuter can hold their heads high knowing they did their best to slow the onslaught.
Showcasing the talent found at the top of the competition, Old Scotch had five of their seven recently announced Big V Squad nominees listed in the best players of the day, with Jade Wise leading the way as best on ground with three majors.
Collegians showed that they deserve their spot in the top four, stunning Monash Blues by 85 points.
Collegians were ferocious from the get-go, controlling the play and consistently hitting the scoreboard. Their third quarter was particularly impressive as they scored 34 points while not allowing Monash to score.
It wasn’t until the last quarter that Monash finally managed to register a score, with goals coming from Clare Konstanty and Alicia Myers, but even then, Collegians were able to outscore the Blues, finishing with a final score of 97 points.
It was a team effort by Collegians who showcased their depth with nine individual goal scorers, but Krystal Russell and Roxy Beuzeville were especially impressive.
On a day where it was hard to find any positives for Monash, the efforts of Brook Thompson and Anna Purtill were a silver lining.
At Righetti Oval, St Kevin’s continued their undefeated streak with a 27-point win over a competitive Coburg outfit.
Elaina Domagala scored the first goal of the day for Coburg, but St Kevin’s responded with two goals in quick succession to take an 8-point lead into the first break.
Coburg were impressive in the second, scoring the only two goals of the term, however, St Kevin’s returned from the main break with their characteristic ascendancy, outscoring Coburg by 29 points in the second half to take a decisive victory.
Coburg had a remarkable day in terms of goal-kicking accuracy, not missing a single shot, however, will need to work on their forward-mid connection to set up more scoring opportunities if they wish to challenge the top sides this year.
Sheridan Bennett and Georgia Sampson continued their excellent form, both featuring in Coburg’s bests for their fifth time this season.
If St Kevin’s didn’t already have enough talent in their forward line with the likes of Kate Stanton, Sarah Cameron and Hannah Smith, Holly Kenealy is now emerging as another star forward, as she added three goals for a second consecutive week.
West Brunswick travelled to Doncaster Reserve, where they overcame Old Yarra Cobras by 18 points, leapfrogging into 6th position on the ladder.
West Brunswick had plenty of the Sherrin early, managing 8 scoring shots to 1 in the first term, but due to inaccuracy took only a 12-point lead into the first break. The Magpies continued to assert their dominance in the second term to extend the margin to 20 points by half time.
Old Yarra scored the only goal of the third term, but failed to capitalise on the momentum, allowing West Brunswick to wrestle back control in the final term and earn their third win of the season.
Alexandra Herrington was phenomenal in her first game for West Brunswick, while Mia Giannopoulos was the standout player for Old Yarra.
On Sunday, Melbourne University Women’s came close to pulling off the upset of the season as they coughed up an early lead to lose to Kew by a slender 12 points.
The first term was tightly contested with both sides narrowly missing their shots at goal to sit on two points each at the first break.
Melbourne University got their second term off to the dream start, as Georgia Nicholas kicked a lovely running goal in the first minute of play, however, Dakota Villiva responded with her own fanciful goal minutes later, evening the scores once again.
Not to be outdone, Asha Price kicked a goal of the year contender from the boundary line to reclaim the lead for the home side. Another goal from Asha with 10 seconds to go saw Melbourne University take a 12-point lead into the main break.
Eve Sheehan kicked the first goal of the third term to stretch Melbourne University’s lead out to a game-high 18 points, however, it would be downhill from there for Melbourne University as they did not manage to hit the scoreboard again. Kew went on to kick the next five goals of the game, breaking the hearts of Melbourne Uni Women’s as they denied them of the upset victory.
Brooke Randall and Victoria Holt have had perfect seasons so far, named in the bests every week, and they both impressed once again.
Georgia Wyett led the charge for Kew, ably supported by Big V Squad members Dakota Villiva and Amelia Dawborn.
This weekend provides an opportunity for teams to rest and recoup, as they prepare for Round 9, which promises a series of thrilling contests.
Kew is set to host Collegians in a battle of 3rd vs 4th, with both sides coming off wins in Round 8.
It has been a long wait, but finally the two undefeated sides will come head-to-head, with St Kevin’s hosting Old Scotch at Righetti Oval. Expect a showcase of the top talent in the VAFA Women’s competition as we see which side can maintain their undefeated streak.
The contest between West Brunswick and Melbourne University Women’s is shaping up to be an intriguing one, with both sides having shown promising signs over the past few weeks.
On the other hand, Caulfield has been disappointing the last few weeks, and Monash Blues will look to make the most of this mid-season slump when they come face to face with the Grammarians at Frearson Oval.
Finally, Coburg will have the opportunity to overtake Old Yarra Cobras on the ladder if they can get the win at Doncaster Reserve.
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