Old Scotch shoot for the stars; Saints de-throned

Caulfield Grammarians have maintained their spot in the top four with a dominant victory over Monash Blues.

The Blues had no answers for all that Grammarians threw at them, unable to keep up with their skills and pace.

Caulfield had already gotten off to a 41-point lead halfway through the second before Monash managed to hit the scoreboard for the first time with a goal to Caitlin Williams.

The second half continued in a similar manner, with Caulfield able to stretch their lead out to 65 points by the final siren.

It was another impressive team performance from Caulfield, with six players contributing majors across the day. Sarah Kenny and Kylie Lynch were particularly impressive up forward, finishing with respective hauls of four and three.

For Monash, Saskia Dekker and Emily Conroy showed promising signs.

Collegians have bid farewell to their hopes of finals after failing to deal with a powerful Kew outfit at Ian Johnson Oval.

Only managing one goal for the day, it was a disappointing output from Collegians who prior to the match were still in contention for a spot in the 2024 finals series.

The silver lining for Collegians was the individual performance of VFLW superstar Sarah Skinner, who earned the best-on accolades for her side.

For Kew, it was encouraging to see the side bounce back after losing to Caulfield by a single point the week before, this time registering a decisive 48-point win.

Usual suspects, Ashlea Melnikas, Amelia Dawborn and Dakota Villiva, were instrumental in the Bears’ victory, determined not to let their side lose two weeks in a row.

The biggest fixture of the Home and Away season saw the two best sides battle it out for the second time this year in what shaped as a blockbuster matchup between St Kevin’s and Old Scotch.

With superstars on every line for both teams, it was impossible to predict who would emerge victorious. Old Scotch started the game strongly with early goals from Millie Fraser-Smith and Eloise Defina, before Hannah Smith responded late in the first term.

St Kevin’s started to gain momentum in the second, taking the lead for the first time after Hannah Smith got on the end of another goal. Unfortunately, play was suspended midway through the second term due to an injury to an Old Scotch player.

The match resumed after half time, and Old Scotch were able to reclaim the lead after Eloise Defina kicked her second goal of the day.

The last quarter was an arm wrestle between the two sides, with no further scores added. A frantic final 30 seconds, St Kevin’s move the ball from one end of the ground to the other, but alas, Holly Kenealy’s kick was brilliantly smothered by Georgia Fraser-Smith in what was a match-saving effort.

Maxine Wells and Emma Robins were the best players on the ground for the victors, while Emily Condon was named St Kevins’ best.

The win was a major coup for Old Scotch, who jumped to the top of the ladder with a superior percentage to that of the Saints. With only one round remaining, the Stars now look likely to clinch the minor premiership.

Over at Piranha Park, Coburg saved themselves from relegation with a courageous win over Old Yarra Cobras.

Coburg peppered away at the scoreboard in the first, struggling with accuracy until Bronte Whyte found the big sticks just before the siren sounded for the first change, earning the Lions a handy buffer.

However, Old Yarra managed to construct more forward entries in the second quarter which allowed them to reduce the margin to five points by the main break.

The inaccuracy continued in the second half with only one more goal kicked for the match, produced by Coburg’s Julia McArdle. With the scarcity of goals on the day, it was enough to seal the win for Coburg, taking them to 7^th place on the ladder where they find themselves safe from the drop zone.

At the end of the day, the scoreline read 2.11 (23) to 1.5 (11), a relieving success for Coburg but an indication that both sides need to spend some more time working on goal kicking in the coming week.

Elaina Domagala and Kiana Minchin starred for Coburg, while Natasha Phipps and Evie Lee did all that they could for the Cobras.

On Sunday, Melbourne University Women’s hosted West Brunswick with both sides fighting for something bigger than the individual result. A win to Melbourne University would put relegation out of the question, while a loss to West Brunswick would take the Magpies out of finals contention.

It was a big first quarter for Annie Mack, who booted two goals to buy West Brunswick a handy 14-point lead, which turned out to be critical in the final standings.

Asha Price responded in the second, bringing the margin back to 7 points until West Brunswick got off the leash again later in the quarter to pull it back out to 13.

Play opened up in the third, with both sides bringing a more attacking style of football to Melbourne University Oval, kicking two goals apiece. In contrast, the scoring dried up in the final term, with just one behind registered for the quarter.

The final scores read 3.4 (22) to 5.6 (36), with West Brunswick taking away the four points to keep their finals aspirations alive and well.

Maddi Katerelos and Angelena Roan continued their hot streak of form for Melbourne University, while Clare Balbata and Alexandra Herrington excelled for the Magpies.

In the final round of the Home & Away season for 2024, teams still have everything to play for.

Caulfield host West Brunswick, which will see the winner book themselves a ticket to September. The Magpies have stormed home to win 6 of their past 7 games, while Caulfield have only dropped 1 game in their last 6. Whoever comes out on top will earn their place in the VAFA Finals Series.

Melbourne University Women’s take on Old Yarra Cobras, who will be aiming to leapfrog the Mugars to maintain their position in the William Buck Premier Women’s competition for 2025.

Old Scotch (vs Collegians) and St Kevins (vs Coburg) are level on points at the top of the ladder with both sides expected to be too good for their opposition, while Kew will have one last chance to build confidence before their elimination final, when they travel to face Monash Blues on Saturday.