Wet, wild and woolly – Round 6 action in the books

Caufield Grammarians blitzed Canterbury by 93 points on a frosty Saturday morning at Glen Huntly Park. Exceptional service from the midfielders namely Cait Adams, captain Laura Carty and Claire Ryan ensured the Caufield forward line plenty of opportunities to fill their boots after a narrow defeat to Fitzroy last week. A 12-scoring shot opening term by Caufield was symptomatic of the possession differential between the two sides, gifting Caufield a 27-point buffer at the first break.

Despite the scoreline, Caufield coach Lachlan Worthy urged his team to keep the foot on the accelerator against a “tenacious Canterbury team.” Canterbury broke their score drought in the second quarter with their first of two majors for the day.

The exuberance of youth was evident in Caufield’s ability to maintain forward half-pressure, a key contributor to their 6 goal third term leading by 77 points at the third interval. It was party time in the fourth term for Caufield when Irena Malliaras booted her sixth goal, quite a haul given the dour conditions. Hannah Buur was equally brilliant for Caufield finishing with a handy 4 goals profiting off magnificent mid to forward connection.

For Worthy, Saturday morning’s performance was a great reward for his youthful team, aspiring to “take this good form into next week and beyond.”

Ramsden Street Oval played host to a 1-point thriller between third place Fitzroy and eight placed Monash Blues. A slow-starting Fitzroy due to inaccuracy at goal in slippery conditions allowed for Monash (one straight goal) to hold a 3-point margin at quarter time. Any murmurings of an upset were quashed when Fitzroy hit back in the second term with their first, and only, goal for the day. A couple of handy third quarter points for Fitzroy proved decisive despite Monash outscoring Fitzroy in the premiership quarter.

The old-adage that inaccurate goal-kicking costs teams victory was disproved by Fitzroy, who found a friend in kicking more behinds than goals. The game was ultimately decided in the first half, as both teams struggled for momentum in the second half with neither hitting the scoreboard.

Ali Charles, Megan Dore and Rhiannon Hetherington sought to put Monash on their backs and will their team to victory while Sarah Solly, Sancia Bingham and Caitlin Carpenter were consistent performers all day in the losing side. As neither side could break the second-half deadlock, Fitzroy hung on to win at the final siren by 1 point; 1.8 (14) to 2.1 (13)!

An under-manned Oakleigh side could not match the high-flying West Brunswick Magpies at Scammell Reserve. Despite the ladder disparity (West Brunswick 2^nd and Oakleigh 10^th), the first half was anything but one-way traffic. Just the sole major for West Brunswick highlighted the first term, serving as a great testament to the vigilant Oakleigh defence. The Magpies furthered their advantage in the second term but could have been a greater statement on the game had their four behinds were converted.

Oakleigh coach Gavin Kenny conceded the game was lost in the premiership quarter, “the third term got away from us and the opposition kicked three goals.” In saying this, he commended his side’s ability to not be overwhelmed by the Magpies’ aggressive brand of football. “The Oakleigh women played with confidence and composure, resulting in some great passages of play” he said. A two-goal final quarter for Oakleigh cut the margin back to 30 points at the final siren. Unfortunately, for Oakleigh it was a little to late.

West Brunswick’s Hayley Lee, Emma Mitchell, Lydia McAuliffe-Holt and Grace McCall were all pivotal in their side’s 5 goal win. 

Westbourne Grammarians continued their road to the Holy Grail after their 16-point win over St Kevin’s. Contrary to their high-scoring tendencies this season, Westbourne had to grind out their victory on Saturday.

The tough conditions at Andrew Park Pavillion were evident in the first quarter as Westbourne only had the four scoring shots for the term, with only one being converted by Emilia King. This was largely as a consequence of St Kevin’s strong defensive unit, who according to SKOB coach Mikayla Dohnt held their structure superbly.

A quiet first term was followed up by another goal-less term for Westbourne in the second quarter. However, not scoring was not a major problem for Westbourne as St Kevin’s end was undeterred until the final term. A couple of consolation minor scores for St Kevin’s in the fourth term were inconsequential as Westbourne responded quickly with a major at the other end of the ground courtesy of Madison Allan.  

St Kevin’s offered a spirited challenge, but it was not to be as Westbourne did the job for a 16-point win to consolidate their spot atop the Division 4 ladder.

Round 6 action concluded with another 1-point nail-biter between Port Melbourne Chargers and undefeated Old Yarra Cobras at JL Murphy Reserve.

The first half was attritional football, with neither side giving an inch. This was represented in the scoreboard as Port Melbourne held a narrow 3-point margin at half time.

Old Yarra, fresh off the half-time break, seized the moment to take the lead for the first time. It was the most-decisive lead change as Port Melbourne struggled to move the ball to their forward line with any real potency. A late fourth quarter goal from Port Melbourne breathed life into the contest again, but a final forward foray was beaten by the bell. Old Yarra win an absolute classic 1.4 (10) to 1.5 (11)!   

Port Melbourne coach Harriet Cooper praised the efforts of her young players, who “demonstrated maturity beyond their years, rising to the occasion with impressive poise and skill.” Certainly, positive signs for this developing Port Melbourne Chargers team.  

Among Old Yarra’s best was Kate Caughey, who booted her side’s only goal for the game. Emily Fitzgerald, Jess Major, Bianca Lawrence, Sidni Finch and Jacqui Morton all did their part to ensure Old Yarra continue their winning ways.

At the time of writing the fixture for Round 7 was yet to be communicated. Stay tuned for another Round of epic clashes as these sides battle it out for standings on the Div 4 Women’s ladder!