Kew clinch tight victory as premier heavyweights break away from the pack

Round 12 of the William Buck Premier Women’s competition delivered another weekend of fierce contests, as clubs battled for momentum heading into the extended break. With no VAFA women’s footy for several weeks, attention now turns to this weekend’s marquee event – the Big V women’s representative clash against the Perth Football League. The match is set to feature several headline players from Premier Women’s sides, offering a showcase of the competition’s top-tier talent on an enormous stage at Elsternwick Park this Saturday afternoon.

The last weekend of VAFA Premier Women’s before the break was a cracker, headlined by Kew’s dynamite win over Fitzroy 3.8 (26) to 4.1 (25).

It was Fitzroy who jumped out to a two goal to zero lead at the first change, however the contest was tight throughout the remainder of the game. The Roys who have had a challenging period over the past month, with several losses to the competitions top end teams, turned their form around with strong pressure and intensity inside the contest.

Roys coach Nathan Jumeau was impressed with his sides ability to persevere after a tough month and noted areas of improvement that will see them back on the winners list in the future.

“We will again look to build on our offensive ball movement. It looks great when we play the way we want but we don’t do it for long enough,” he said.

The Roys will look to regroup during the break and watch one of their own in Jaime Nelson don the Big V this Saturday against Perth.

Jumeau referenced the clear messaging he will communicate to his side heading into the back half of the season.

“It will be about pushing to get the last finals spot; we have a really important next 3 games.”

Bears coach Emily Avery was delighted with her sides win despite what she referenced as a clear lapse in the early minutes of the term costing her side two important goals. Another important subplot from the game was the inaccuracy of the Bears which Avery was quick to highlight.

“We had a lot of entries up forward and just couldn’t convert. We will be looking to work on our goal kicking and starting well from the first bounce.”

For the Bears Katie Dorsett was a standout on the wing and booted an important goal from 40 meters out.

Old Scotch continued their winning ways with a dominant victory over Williamstown CYMS by 66 points, 10.11 (71) to 0.5 (5) at Camberwell Sportsground.

The Cardinals have flexed their muscles in the past month with impressive victories over several quality opponents in William Buck Premier. The win over the CY’s was set up in the first quarter with a 27-0 lead at the first break.

Emily Tassiopoulos, Eloise Defina and Mia Cowan were all named in the best for the Cardinals on the day and will be three of the five representatives for Old Scotch in the Big V clash against Perth this Saturday.

For the CY’s the break will provide some time to lick their wounds and attack the last section of the season with some venom, whilst attempting to launch themselves into finals contention. Marli Russell, Jess Court and Krystal Russell were all standouts for the CY’s on the day.

Caulfield Grammarians 8.4 (52) defeated West Brunswick 1.2 (8) at McAlister Oval to continue their unbeaten run to eleven wins. The Fields have been the class team of the competition since round 1 and a demolition in the last quarter against the Magpies set up the victory.

The 31-6 last quarter was the difference in the matchup and puts the Fields in a great position on the top of the ladder heading into the break. Coach Danielle DiStefano was extremely pleased with her sides ability to finish the game strong and praised the challenges West Brunswick posed.

“I was really pleased with our ability to finish strong after a tight and physical contest for the first three quarters. It was great for us to come up against an incredibly cohesive and competitive midfield in West Brunswick, which forced our midfielders to level up to win at the source.”

In contrast, Magpies coach Ryan Wandel praised his sides efforts in the first three quarters and referenced Caulfield’s ability to utilise the corridor in the final quarter to deliver the killer blow for victory.

“I was pleased with our contest and pressure for the first three quarters and our ability to lock the ball in our front half. Credit to Caulfield, they owned the corridor and really taught us a lesson in the last quarter in how to utilise the corridor to get to dangerous scoring positions.”

With the loss, the Magpies sit just outside the top 4, however, Wandel suggested that despite the recent dip in form, the messaging to his group remains the same.

“We are not far off; we’ve been in every game this year going into the final quarter. Weve got some things to clean up and adjust, but we will stick fat and keep believing in long term growth.”

In the final game of the round, St Kevin’s travelled to Beaumaris who came off their first win in Premier Women’s last week against Williamstown CYMS. Despite this, the 2024 grand finalists were too strong for Beaumaris, winning 8.7 (55) to 2.2 (14).

St Kevin’s coach Tom Purcell was particularly pleased with an even contribution from his side with Elysia Burvil and Belinda Woolcock the standouts for the Saints. Purcell was also quick to praise A-Grade newbies Beaumaris.

“They are a young team and their tackling, outside run and ball movement after quarter time were super impressive.”

Beaumaris coach Sam Calogero was happy with the performance against a stalwart of Premier Women’s footy but was quick to reference his gratitude for the upcoming break and the positive impact it can have on his club.

“The next few weeks gives us a chance to regroup as it has been quite hectic and refresh our players and coaches for the run home,” he said.

After the break, William Buck Premier Women’s returns for Round 13 and will deliver some mouthwatering contests. Old Scotch face Old Geelong at Como Park, Fitzroy travel to West Brunswick, Beaumaris and Caulfield Grammarians do battle, St Kevin’s face Kew and Williamstown CYMS have the bye.