Hawks hit the ground running in Division 2

The regrading has thrown up some new matchups across many divisions this weekend. The Division 2 Women’s competition welcomed two new sides into the league in Hawthorn and Coburg.

Hawthorn kicked off life in Division 2 with a bang, downing Aquinas by 8 points at Rathmines Road Reserve. A dynamic final term from the Hawks saw them boot four goals and run away from Aquinas. Tessa Bodin was impressive for the home side, kicking three goals and putting in a true captain’s performance.

The Hawks will be relishing the division change, notching up their first win of the year. Aquinas still remains winless this season, in desperate need of their first win to boost the side’s confidence. Leading in many different stages of their games this season outlines how they have the players and system to win games of footy. They’ll be looking to snatch their long-awaited first victory when they travel to Gillon Oval to face Brunswick in Round 6.

Old Carey was ultra impressive against La Trobe, recording an important 11-point win away from home. Opposition head coach Samantha Greene was full of praise for the Panthers, impressed with their improvement.  “Old Carey were one of the best teams we have seen and have had big improvement between the off-season,” Greene said.

Unable to handle the dew conditions early, La Trobe struggled to remain clean around the ball, suffering from some unfortunate turnovers. The Panthers were able to adapt to the conditions a little better and remain polished around the footy. Full credit to Old Carey, who were able to take advantage of La Trobe’s mistakes and put some scoreboard pressure on in the third quarter. It seems that Old Carey are improving match by match and look like a side playing with great cohesion in all facets of the game.

De La Salle maintained their perfect record, defeating UHS-VU by six points. The win was certainly not an easy one after UHS-VU led for three quarters and really took it up to the undefeated side. Although they were tested throughout the early stages, the class of De La Salle prevailed in the final term, keeping UHS-VU scoreless and securing the four points.

Their ability to defend the ground late on was a huge reason they were able to win, and the effort from the playing group was second to none. It was a gallant effort in the end for UHS-VU, a game from which coach Alex Henry can draw plenty of positives. The ability to go toe-to-toe with the competition’s best side for the majority of the contest is something to be extremely proud of. It has been a truly remarkable start to the season for De La, sitting top of the table and being the team to beat.

Brunswick was able to break the game open in the final quarter to snatch victory from MCC. Both sides were neck and neck all afternoon, sitting at two goals-three apiece at three-quarter time. Brunswick was able to capitalise on their chances and boot two majors to secure a much-needed win for Sasha Dougherty’s side. Club captain Clare Woodhouse was instrumental again for Brunswick, kicking a goal and driving a positive final term performance.

Since beginning the season 2-0, MCC has lost three games straight and hit a roadblock. Being unable to stop the fast-finishing Brunswick over the weekend means they will have to defeat Coburg next round to kerb this string of defeats.

Another fantastic round of footy has come and gone in the Division 2 Women’s competition. No doubt Round 6 will continue the exciting and action-packed football we have become accustomed to this year, with many more eye-catching clashes set to take place.