Thrills, spills, and statement wins: A weekend of footy drama

St Kevin’s have notched up their second win of the season, out-muscling West Brunswick by 14 points on Saturday morning. The bye served as a great opportunity for the Saints to rest and recover to throw their weight around for the second half of the season.

Indeed, they did just that in the first term by getting on the scoreboard early courtesy of Lauren Gdanski. West Brunswick immediately replied to draw level mid-way through the first quarter, keen to dispose of the post-bye blues.

Similarly, the second term was a grind, with both teams not giving an inch. St Kevin’s failed to capitalize on some important centre clearance victories, misfiring 0.3 at goal for the quarter. The lead was a minor 4 points at the main change. Despite not putting meaningful scores on the board, the Saints backs were instrumental in keeping the Magpies scoreless for the remainder of the match.

When Sofia Zielonka split the middle for the Saint’s second major for the morning, it was all she wrote on the Magpies’ chances of mounting a comeback. St Kevin’s coach Mikayla Dohnt praised her team’s ability to win contested ball and effectively transition into the forward 50.

Gdanski, Wallace, Cook, Lupson, Lewis and McVea, were all instrumental in registering St Kevin’s first victory since Round 1 to charge home by 14 points!

In the match of the round, Canterbury edged out Monash Blues in a 5-point, low-scoring thriller! With both teams suffering losses before the bye, they were equally as hungry for redemption and to get another win on the board.

Canterbury’s backline has been a strong-suit this season and their first quarter performance was no different, holding Monash to the solitary behind. Both teams were inaccurate to begin with, however, Canterbury broke the shackles with the first major of the day in the second quarter to take a handy 8-point lead at half time.  

Scoring opened up for both sides in the premiership quarter, with Canterbury narrowly winning the quarter 2.2 to Monash’s 2.1, to set up a grand-stand finish at Canterbury Sportsground 1. Monash struck early in the final term to instil fear in the Canterbury camp as the captain Skye Blackshaw kicked a valuable captains goal. However, Canterbury’s fourth goal late in the fourth term was utterly decisive, despite Monash winning the quarter. 

Admirable in defeat was Postlethwaite, Kennedy, Carpenter, Charles, Yonehara and Musk for the Blues.

Canterbury prevails in a Saturday Special!

Doncaster Reserve played host to 2^nd placed Old Yarra Cobras and 5^th placed Caufield Grammarians. Grammarians’ coach Lachie Worthy knew it was going to be a tough ask for his side with key pillars absent due to exams, injuries and holidays.

The Grammarians’ held up well in the first term, keeping the hosts to just the one goal but failing to make the most of their one opportunity at goal. Old Yarra progressively flexed their muscles as the game wore on, with a goal in each quarter. This constant scoreboard pressure was a little too overwhelming for the Grammarians’ side who boasted plenty of youth and inexperience.

The Cobras’ Kate Caughey continued her fine run of form with an early major before it was the Hilary Donelan show, who kicked three goals for the match. Jacqui Morton and Emily Bourke were also significant in the 28-point win, with a goal respectively.

Worthy noted the efforts of first year’s Jenny Berthelmy and Kodie Wilson off the half-back line in addition to Emily Robinson who held her own in a tough ruck battle. “Our tackle pressure was great, and we continually got numbers to the contest but couldn’t sustain it for the full 20 min each quarter” he said.

Continuing to blood youth may be a change worth pondering for the Grammarians’ team going forward. On the other hand, Old Yarra’s victory means the season reads an impressive 6 wins and 3 losses, a position that will help them propel their top two aspirations.

Ladder-leaders Westbourne Grammarians got the chocolates with a 33-point victory over Fitzroy at Andrew Park Pavillion in the afternoon fixture. It was by no means a perfect performance by Westbourne as exemplified by their goal-kicking. A 5-goal margin could have been so much more with 19 behinds to show for.

Fitzroy made Westbourne pay for their inaccuracy, booting the first goal for the game thanks to Catherine Turnbull in a surprising 5-point lead at the first break. However, from there it was all aboard the Westbourne train, dominating the inside-50 metric in the second quarter. But it was their inaccurate goal-kicking that kept the door open for Fitzroy.

Jessica Nannup broke the streak of 8-straight behinds with her first goal for the day, helping her side extend the margin to 9 points at three quarter time.

The goal-kicking boots were re-discovered in the final quarter for Westbourne, as Caytlyn Sharp (1) and Kensley Ward (2) kicked goals to put the result beyond doubt.

Westbourne’s Nannup, Choate, Flenley, Pearson, and Allan, all did their part in securing the four points for their team, whereas, Guerra, Rangiah, Barton, Strothers, Becker-Scott, and Reupana were the best for Fitzroy.

Westbourne’s eighth victory for the year has them clearly placed as premiership favourites.

Port Melbourne Chargers received a much-needed percentage boost on Saturday afternoon as a result of their 5-goal win against Oakleigh. The win came off the back of a forward masterclass by Irishwoman Cáolinn McCormack, who booted three goals. Ella Travis also chimed in with a handy goal against the run of play. In the midfield, Milli Ledgerwood and Alexandra Gurr were dominant, consistently winning contested ball to set up their side’s victory.

For Oakleigh, Olivia Charleston, Melissa Dawson and Giselle Jones-Wilson, all kicked goals in vain. Julia Kendall, Ayla Delaney, Ella O’Gorman, Jones-Wilson, and Sophie Conn were impressive despite the 30-point loss.

Casting our eye to next week, Oakleigh have a winnable fixture against fellow cellar-dweller Monash. Port Melbourne will also look to bank another win against St Kevin’s.