Powerhouse performances define Round 17 in Premier Women’s

Round 17 of William Buck Premier Women’s delivered a series of dominant performances, with Kew, Caulfield Grammarians, Old Scotch and St Kevin’s all recording convincing victories to set the stage for the run into finals.

Kew continued their charge towards finals with a commanding 9.8 (62) to 2.4 (16) win over Old Geelong, built largely on a dominant front-half game. Coach Emily Avery praised her side’s ability to lock the ball in attack, convert opportunities and maintain strong connection between the lines. “We are really connecting at the moment and have a shared vision of how we want to play,” Avery said. “We’ve had inconsistencies with the playing list through the year, so the team not changing much has also been really helpful.”

The Bears looked dangerous when they took the game on through the corridor and Avery said maintaining momentum would be crucial in the run home. “We need to keep the momentum going this week and will need to put up a strong performance to make finals.”

OG’s coach Jack Crameri was pleased with his side’s efforts despite the final score and continues to take positives out of their debut season in William Buck Premier.

“I thought we started off really well but didn’t get the scoreboard pressure that we needed too.”

“In terms of the season we have taken a lot from it, we’ve been in the contest against a lot of the premier teams, but we are just a few markers off.”

Caulfield Grammarians secured a 7.8 (50) to 1.3 (9) victory over Fitzroy, showcasing the brand of footy they will be looking to carry into finals. Coach Danielle Di Stefano said she was impressed with her side’s ability to stick to their strengths. “I was pleased with our ability to play to our strengths and put our brand on show this weekend,” she said. The Field’s midfield set the tone, with Olivia Rundle, Ellie Cleland and Ella Baxter leading the way through the middle. Di Stefano added that finishing the home-and-away season strongly would be key to giving her team the best possible launch into finals.

Despite the defeat, Fitzroy showed encouraging signs in the first half, with coach Nathan Jumeau praising the pressure applied around the ground. “I was really happy with our first half, our pressure around the ground was amazing,” Jumeau said. “But again, we didn’t put any scoreboard presence on.” Maddie DeBondt, Maddie Smith and Evie Lee each stood tall in their respective lines, and Jumeau said the challenge now was to turn strong patches of play into consistent, scoreboard-impacting performances. “The learning is that our best can compete with the best in the competition—it’s just about converting when we are on top into scores and being more consistent throughout the game.”

Old Scotch strengthened their finals position with a 7.7 (49) to 1.2 (8) win over West Brunswick, but the contest was far from one-sided. West Brunswick coach Ryan Wandel was pleased with his side’s first-half effort, particularly their pressure and ball movement. “Our pressure in the first half was great around the ball, and we had some great passages of play where we took it on and used our legs,” Wandel said. However, he admitted forward entries and conversion once again proved costly. “Our issue, which has been our pain point against the top sides, were our forward entries and ability to convert opportunities going forward. We defended well, but with no scoreboard nourishment, we got overpowered. Old Scotch dominated the air, but we also allowed them to at times with long, high kicks that weren’t to our forwards’ advantage.”

For Old Scotch, Coach Dean Anderson said he was grateful to be tested ahead of finals. “We are lucky to be playing strong teams in the lead up to finals,” he said. “West Brunswick really tested us early and gave us some key areas to work on for our next game. Our defensive pressure was an area for improvement, and our forward craft early wasn’t at our expected level.” What most impressed him, however, was his side’s resilience. “What pleased me as it always does is the response the players produced when challenged. They understand what’s at stake now. The win secured a double chance for our club and I’m most proud of the team’s achievement in backing up after last year’s success.”

St Kevin’s rounded out Round 17 in emphatic fashion, powering past Williamstown CYMS with a 15.18 (108) to 0.0 (0) victory. Coach Tom Purcell was pleased with the even contribution across the board as his side sharpened up for another finals tilt. “It was good to have an even team performance heading into finals,” Purcell said.

Sarah Cameron’s energy at ground level lifted the entire group. With momentum on their side, St Kevin’s look primed for another deep September campaign. Hannah Smith led the charge in front of the sticks with nine majors to her name.

On a down day for the CY’s Chloe Perrett, Krystal Russell and Paras Paton were the best for the away side on the day.

The final round of the home-and-away season promises plenty of intrigue, with Caulfield Grammarians facing West Brunswick, Kew meeting Old Scotch in a crucial top four battle, Old Geelong taking on Williamstown CYMS and Fitzroy up against Beaumaris, while St Kevin’s enjoy the bye before launching into another finals campaign.