Division 4 pulse: The highs, lows and fierce battles of Round 8

On the final day of Autumn, Round 8 delivered some high-scoring contests with two teams cracking the ton!

Canterbury (2-6) had their sights firmly on causing a stir for the 2^nd place Fitzroy (6-2) at Canterbury Sportsground. However, early momentum was seized by the Fitzroy side, who looked tougher and cleaner around the contest. An emblem of the first quarter was Fitzroy’s fanatic forward pressure that contributed 5 scoring shots to Canterbury’s minor score at the first break.

The second term was quite a lull for both teams as the game ping-ponged between the 50m arcs. Canterbury failed to maximize Fitzroy’s turnovers into productive scores, finishing the term with 2 behinds to show for.

An early Fitzroy major in the third term seemingly arrested Canterbury’s forward charge and by doing so, extending the margin to 18 points mid-way through the third quarter. However, against the run of play, Canterbury’s Georgia Bold slotted a much-needed goal to cut the margin back to 11 points.

Trailing by 11 points at 3 quarter time, Canterbury threw caution to the wind booting consecutive goals from Stephanie Langley and Eva Catania to get Canterbury within touching distance of their third victory for the season. However, the ball lived in Fitzroy’s forward 50 for the final four minutes of the match crucially denying Canterbury an upset win. Fitzroy winners by 7 points: 3.5 (23) to 4.6 (30).

Doncaster Reserve hosted Old Yarra Cobras and West Brunswick in a clash for aspiring top four candidates.

The first quarter certainly reflected the two similarly placed sides in Season 2025, with both teams struggling to gain an upper hand with one behind apiece.

However, the floodgates opened in the second quarter as Old Yarra were able to transition the ball well from their back half to kick 2.2 for the quarter. The Cobras’ Jacqui Morton was lively in the second quarter with assistance from fellow goal-scorer Kimberely Lyth. The Magpies struck back with 1.1 to end the quarter trailing by just 7 points thanks to a clever goal from Clodagh Fox.

Old Yarra responded to the Magpies’ late second quarter flurry with a couple of behinds, but nothing of significant damage for the possession they occupied. West Brunswick’s Lydia McAluiffe-Holt underpinned the value of straight goal-kicking to give her side the impetus for a final quarter comeback.

However, much like their season to date, Old Yarra proved too strong in the clinches doing all the scoring for the final quarter. Old Yarra’s 3.2 final term proved utterly decisive as West Brunswick failed to hit the scoreboard in the most important quarter of the match. The Cobras rattle their way to a 23-point win!

Port Melbourne charged their war to a 103-point victory over Preston Bullants at Elwood Park on Saturday afternoon.

Preston’s desire for a response after last week’s loss was stalled early when the Chargers kicked an unanswered 5.5 to open the match. Emma Meggs, Paige Holt, Tanasija Milić proved to be a tough task for the Preston backline in the first quarter.

The scoreboard continued to tick over for Port Melbourne thanks to goals from Meggs, Peters and Ross, all demonstrating excellent forward patterns and craft. It was not all doom and gloom for the Preston side as Mia Minguez Baird kicked the travelling side’s first for the day before the half time break.

However, that was the extent of the day’s goal-scoring for the Bullants as Port Melbourne bombarded their attacking fifty, offering plenty of opportunities for Peters and Meggs to score their 3^rd and 5^th goals respectively. Meggs finished the match with her first handful this season!

A three goal to zero final term from the Chargers capped off a clinical day at the office. It was a tough ask for a Preston side coming up against the Chargers for the first time. They are most definitely still in the competition currently in eighth on the ladder as we ring in the mid-season break with this weekend’s bye round and plenty more football to be played on the other side.

Who’s going to stop Westbourne? Is the question on everyone’s lips in 2025. Westbourne Grammarians were ruthless again on Saturday, dismissing Monash Blues by a mammoth 113 points.

Westbourne set the tone for a big afternoon, with a 6.4 opening onslaught to a scoreless Monash. Isabel Choate and Chiaralii Parnell were a significant presence up forward, who both booted three goals in the first quarter.

Who would have thought the opening term could be outdone? Westbourne continued to pile on the pain with a 45-point second quarter, with Jessica Nannup, Georgia D’Amico, Kensley Ward and Montana Dumesny all joining the ever-growing goal-scorers list. Parnell’s double in the second quarter made it 5 goals for her afternoon already at half time – quite an incredible feat!

Parnell and Choate continued to rule the forward fifty, as Parnell booted another 1.2 but could have finished the day with 8 goals! The margin hit the century mark in the final minute before the three-quarter time siren blew.

Despite the carnage that ensued all day, Monash’s Natasha Pullin, Eliza Millen, Caitlin Carpenter, Alli Charles, Amber McCarthy, and Vanessa Calcinotto held their heads up.

Westbourne hit the slow-down button in the final term to put key players on ice as the damage had been done. A 17-goal performance in addition to keeping their opposition scoreless is truly a reflection of a great team performance across the park!

Saturday’s twilight fixture saw Oakleigh host the in-form Caufield Grammarians. With a handful of top-up players from the Oakleigh women’s first team, the Krushers got off to a positive start kicking 2 goals to Caufield’s zero in the first quarter.

Oakleigh coach Gavin Kenny highlighted Kaitlyn Sidopolous’ first quarter goal as one of the moments of the day. “Sidopolous went for a run, took a few bounces and slotted one through!” he said.

However, the Krusher’s margin was reduced thanks to an important second quarter goal from Caufield’s Addy Taylor.  

An old football adage is that the third quarter is the “premiership quarter.” Indeed, Caufield upheld that adage by bursting out of the change rooms with Caufield’s Hannah Buur converting thrice aided by a number of forward entries from Cait Adams, Ruby Hong and Claire Ryan winning the ball out of the guts.

“Oakleigh just kept attacking and forcing the ball in their direction, but we were able to sustain the pressure with the backline holding strong,” said Grammarians coach Lachlan Worthy. It was this strong backline that was pivotal in Caufield holding onto a 28-point buffer at the final siren.