Cobras strike, Blues triumph: Division 4 action heats up!

After four grading matches, three new teams Old Yarra Cobras, Canterbury and Caulfield Grammarians enter the Division 4 Women’s cauldron. This means there is a renewed look at the competition for Monash Blues, St Kevin’s and Fitzroy – teams that previously languished at the bottom of the Division 4 ladder.

Old Yarra Cobras and Oakleigh both endorsed BCNA Round by wearing pink socks. The comaraderie went deeper than the symbolic pink nods to Breast Cancer Awareness, with both sides embodying the values of community and inclusion. With Oakleigh 3 players short, the Cobras were more than happy to lend the required numbers to their opposition each quarter to even up the sides and avoid a forfeited fixture; wanting to play For The Love Of The Game and depicting great sportsmanship.

Old Yarra Cobras made their presence felt in their first outing in the Div 4 competition making light work of an under-manned Oakleigh at Doncaster Reserve. Kate Caughey imposed her dominance in the first term to boot two first quarter goals, critical in commanding her side to a 14-point margin at quarter time. A third goal to Caughey early in the 2^nd quarter with the help of Emma Elliot and Sidni Finch providing scoreboard movement saw the Cobras pull away from the jaws of the Oakleigh defence.

As both teams honored breast cancer awareness by donning pink socks for the fixture, Oakleigh played in the spirit of the occasion by bouncing back in the third term, scoring 8 points of their own while keeping the Cobras scoreless.

Oakleigh coach Gavin Kenny highlighted the uptick in forward pressure in the second half stating, “we were able to lock the ball in our forward line for half of the game.”

Ultimately, Old Yarra got back on the horse after a quiet third quarter to kick 4.2 to Oakleigh’s 0.1, injecting their venom in a final quarter blitz. Goals to Sidni Finch, April Jones, Tahlia Limburg and Hilary Donelan secured the 49-point win for the Cobras.

Familiar foes St Kevin’s and Monash Blues met at Jordan Reserve on Saturday morning producing a low scoring arm-wrestle that fell in favour of the Blues. Monash burst out of the gates with a 2.2 first quarter to a scoreless St Kevin’s. The second term was so highly contested that neither team was able to hit the scoreboard, a testament to both teams defensive units.

It was St Kevin’s who held the upper hand in the premiership quarter but failed to score that elusive major instead putting through 2 behinds. A rare Monash scoreless second and third term was put behind them in the final quarter with two more Monash goals dissipating St Kevin’s flicker of hope at their first win in 2025. The Blues came away with the four points and a 26-point victory under their belt.

Reni Guo (2 goals), Ashleigh Acunzo (1 goal) and Jessica Rose Bennnett (1 goal) were instrumental in Monash 26-point win, while Genevieve Holden, Mathanki Winayakan and Edenn Bacyck held their heads up high for their continued efforts in the contest for St Kevin’s.

Canterbury started their Division 4 campaign in style, demolishing West Brunswick by 41 points. However, it was a reasonably subdued start for both teams as exemplified by Caufield’s 1.1 to West Brunswick’s solitary behind. The game opened up in the second term for Canterbury kicking away from West Brunswick with an impressive 3 goal quarter.

West Brunswick coach Hazel Theophania noted the effort of her chargers to stop the Canterbury run and carry. “We gave ‘em a run for their money in the third quarter where we adapted our stoppage strategy” Theophania said.

Unfortunately, for the Magpies the damage was done in the third term with the margin extending from 25 points at the third quarter break to 41 points at the final siren. The game was played with such a great manner that both teams joined forces to sing Chappel Roan’s Pink Pony Club in the rooms after the game!

A few more months in the Division 4 system will be highly beneficial for the Magpies after what has been a challenging season to date.

Unfortunately, the Division 4 Women’s competition can’t shake the pesky forfeit! Port Melbourne Chargers, a strong performer so far could not contest the game with Westbourne Grammarians.

In the final match of the round, newcomers to Division 4, Caulfield Grammarians, went down to Fitzroy by 20 points at Ramsden Street Oval. Fitzroy failed to punish Caulfield in the first term, misfiring at goal twice to hold a narrow 2-point advantage early in the second term. Caulfield arrested Fitzroy’s momentum by booting a goal late in the second quarter to lead by 2 points at the main change.

However, the Roys, determined to taste victory for the third time after a couple of narrow losses, seized control of the game after half time with two more majors to the goal tally.

Fitzroy’s important 13-point buffer at three quarter time was extended with a crucial fourth term goal to safeguard the lead at the final siren.

Caulfield ensured Fitzroy would grind out a hard-fought 20-point win through the endeavours of Ruby Neil, Emily Robinson, Tori Huggins, Caitlin Adams, Carla Hewitt and Ruby Hong. 

Looking further afield, Round 6 is promised to deliver some mouth-watering clashes. It all starts with third place Fitzroy hosting Monash. Caulfield, seeking to bounce back after their loss to Fitzroy, will host Canterbury at Glen Huntly Park. Round 6 action rolls on with Oakleigh and West Brunswick, the Match of the Round! Westbourne, keen to get back on the park will play St Kevin’s at Andrew Park Pavillion. Comprehensive round 5 winners Old Yarra will travel to JL Murphy Reserve to take on Port Melbourne.

Keen to see what round 6 has install for us!