CYs stun Saints in home victory, while the Fields stay perfect

Round 8 of the William Buck Premier Women’s competition lived up to the hype with several fantastic clashes and a huge boil over between Williamstown CYMS and St Kevin’s headlining the weekends footy.

After a number of disappointing performances in the past month, Williamstown CYMS hosted St Kevin’s at Fearon Reserve with hopes of an unlikely upset over last year’s grand finalist.

What ensued was a spectacular performance from a young CY’s team who dominated the Saints 11.4 (70) to 3.4 (22). Williamstown blitzed St Kevin’s in the first term with five goals, several of which coming from CY’s star Polly Conway. The CY’s held onto their momentum across the whole contest and were ultra-impressive.

Williamstown coach Xavier Smith was full of positivity on the bench throughout the game and welcomed every player with a fist bump and some encouraging words.

Smith said after the contest that his side went into the game with three key focus areas.

“Dominate the contest, own the outside and get back to basics. I felt as though we ticked all those boxes.”

Despite the fast start, Smith put his team on notice early in the game that the 2024 grand finalists were unlikely to go down without a fight.

“St Kevin’s were always going to fight back; we just rode that wave and took our opportunities when they came.”

The previously aforementioned Conway was phenomenal in the CY’s triumph and 17-year-old Jacinta Eteuati blew the game to shreds with her physicality in the back half of the ground.

St Kevin’s coach Tom Purcell was all class as per usual and gave the CY’s side its due credit after the performance.

“Let’s recognise the brilliant performance of Williamstown. Outstanding team performance controlling the stoppages, clearances, contested footy and great ball movement into the forward line.

Purcell was quick to reflect on his sides performance and the improvements they will make as a result.

“We will lick our wounds and looking forward to rebounding after the break. Focus will be winning the contested footy and keeping shape around the contest.”

Beaumaris made the trip to Kew to face a Bears side who have played in some thrilling games in the past month of footy. The Sharks, however, were unable to match the intensity early in the game and were defeated 9.10 (64) to 1.2 (8).

Kew’s fast start can be attributed to the Bears pressure around the contest and aerial dominance which put them out of the Sharks reach by the main break. With Lauralee Rinaldi and Amelia Dawborn, the standouts for Kew.

Sharks coach Sam Calogero praised his sides efforts in the second half and some returning players from injury.

“We worked back in the second half lifting our intent and pressure. Players such as Piper Phelan returning after a long injury and Zali Reynolds worked hard across the backline.”

Kew Coach Emily Avery expressed her positivity surrounding the outlook of her side and the potential for improvement from the midpoint of the season.

“Halfway through the season and I am relatively happy with how we are progressing.”

West Brunswick 6.8 (44) defeated Old Geelong 3.4 (22) to make it two wins on the bounce after a slow start to season 2025 for the Magpies.

The Magpies utilised their handball game and composure to build a sizeable half time lead which set them up for the 22-point victory.

Taylah Watson was at her damaging best in her milestone game, alongside strong performances from fellow midfielders Bronte Carlin and Sarah Jolly.

“West Brunswick coach Ryan Wardel was pleased with the victory but noted several areas for improvement in his side’s second-half performance.

“In the coming weeks, we’ll work on our situational awareness and our ability to control the tempo and retain possession when the game demands it.”

With the defeat, Old Geelong have slipped to equal bottom on the William Buck Premier Women’s ladder despite their three wins to date. Highlighting the competitiveness of this year’s competition.

Despite the loss, Mietta Passon and Brooke Mckay were two of the standouts for the OG’s.

In the final game of Round 8, Caulfield Grammarians faced Fitzroy to extend their winning streak without loss to 8 on the trot. The Field’s led the whole way in a hard-fought victory 3.7 (25) to 2.4 (16).

Caulfield coach Danielle Distefano admitted her side weren’t as sharp as they’d like to be but acknowledged their ability to battle out a tough win.

“I was pretty happy with our ability to grind out a win despite 4 quarters of intense pressure from Fitzroy. We will look to rest, recharge and review over the bye week and then get straight back into it.”

Fitzroy Coach Nathan Jumeau was happy with several aspects of his sides performance despite the result and lauded the performance of Jaime Nelson.

“I was really happy with our defensive efforts this week; our tackles were back at numbers we were seeing last year if we bring that effort every week we will be in every game we play.”

“Jaime Nelson was the best player on the ground by a long way, dominated in the ruck, being a presence in the air and defensively on the ground.”

Old Scotch were the only side with the bye this week and head into the King’s Birthday weekend in 3^rd place, with Caulfield Grammarians, St Kevin’s and Beaumaris rounding out the top 4 positions.