Old Carey on top, Parkside red-hot as finals race concludes

The final game of the home and away season for the Division 2 Women’s competition threw up some important results for sides getting ready to gear up for finals. Congratulations to minor premiers Old Carey, who will play finals alongside Parkside, La Trobe University, UHS-VU, and Box Hill North. Given the regrading period forming a competitions of 11 teams, Div 2 Women’s will enter finals with five teams, with the upcoming Qualifying Final weekend ultimately forming a final four.

Parkside has truly been one of the stories of the season, finishing off the year with 9 straight victories. They were tested early by a De La Salle side who unfortunately have missed out on finals after this defeat.

Unable to stop the Devils’ fast and aggressive ball movement, De La Salle conceded 8 goals after quarter time to lose the game by 45 points. Regular Parkside goalkicker Martina Zeevaarder notched up 3 majors for her side, continuing her strong scoring record. A strong first term from De La just wasn’t enough to withstand an in-form Parkside outfit, who seem to be playing with extreme confidence and freedom.

Alas it has been a disappointing end of the season for De La Salle, who although started the season off strong, have managed only one win from their final eight games, unable to make the most of their fast start to the season.

Old Carey did what they needed to do against Box Hill North, running out 48-point winners and securing the minor premiership. In what’s been one of their strengths all season, the Panthers managed to score with ease and boast a spread of goalkickers. Jemima Alexander kicked an impressive 4 goals, in conjunction with teammate Amy McCormack slotting 3 on the day.

An accurate showing of 11.4 definitely helped Old Carey rack up a serious margin, proving too good for Box Hill. Box Hill North finish their season in fifth and will have their chance to progress through finals when they play in this weekend’s qualifying final. Box Hill have shown serious progress this season, fielding a side week by week and never going down without a fight.  

UHS-VU has secured Finals football, grinding away to victory against a brave MCC FC. A tense first quarter saw no goals kicked from either side, with an obvious need to take your chances present in the early stages.

Emma Boeck got UHS-VU’s goal tally underway early on in the second quarter to give her side a 9-point lead heading into the sheds at halftime. An inaccurate second half saw UHS-VU kick 2.6, but it still was enough to fend off an impressive MCC who had a red-hot crack on the day.

A bittersweet 2025 comes to an end for MCC, finishing 10th. With their games always being low scoring and fierce from the first bounce, it always made it difficult for opposition sides to get the game on their terms. Sadly, these performances just weren’t enough for the club to get anywhere near finals action.

On the other hand, UHS-VU will head into the finals, bullish about their chances.

Hawthorn finished off their 2025 with a four-point win over Brunswick, but it didn’t come without a late scare from the fast-finishing Renegades. The Hawks came out of the blocks quickly, kicking three goals straight in the first term to Brunswick’s 1.2. The Hawks also possessed a healthy halftime lead, heading into the second half in pole position. Some inaccurate goalkicking probably cost Brunswick in the end, with 2.4 not enough to get them over the line.

Both sides finish the season off in 7th and 8th, putting together a series of good wins and unfortunate losses along the journey. Both teams were definitely not a pushover, making their opposition work extremely hard for the four points, playing an extremely competitive brand of football.

Stay tuned for all the Division 2 Women’s finals action kicking off next weekend!