Statement wins light up Round 1 of Div 2 Women’s

A big start to kick things off in Round 1 of the Division 2 Women’s Competition. Here’s how it played out.

MCCFC 9.19.73 def Caulfield Grammarians 1.2.8

Quick ball movement defined MCC’s 65-point win over an inexperienced Caufield Grammarians unit at Glen Huntly Park on Saturday, with MCC handing six players their debut.

Sebastian Mueller (MCC): “This game was particularly exciting for the club, as we welcomed six debutants who donned the MCCFC guernsey for the very first time, including four players who had never played senior football before.”

“Our mids and half backs, led by Ress Wade, Lucy Doyle and Jade Nisbet, managed to adjust to Caulfield’s strong ruck early in the game and were able to set up more defensively to win their 1v1 battles. Our forwards all had opportunities to score goals, but Caitlin Sexton and Tess Porter were particularly dangerous, with their speed and team-first attitude bringing their teammates into the game.”

Despite the loss, Caufield were able to take good lessons out of their opening game with some young emerging stars.

Lach Worthy (CGFC): “As a development squad, there were a lot of positives to take out of the game with young stars Jas Conrad and Abby Taylor showing plenty of potential and more experienced players Soph Higham and Alyssa Bernardo leading the way.”

Caufield look ahead to Round 2 where they will take on Richmond Central, with MCC heading across to play Hampton Rovers.

UHS-VU 8.12.60 def Old Yarra Cobras 1.3.9

It was a good contest over at Brens Oval with UHS-VU coming out on top with their opening match against Old Yarra Cobras. The forward line was working hard with seven goalkickers for UHS-VU and captain Jacqui Montgomery stepping up in the backline, and a shining performance on the wing from Charlotte Baker on debut.

Tim Rocke (UHS-VU): “Jacqui Montgomery was a brick wall down back, and Charlotte Baker had one of the best debuts I’ve seen on the wing.”

It took the first quarter for Old Yarra to adjust, however after quarter time it was a different team which saw Old Yarra hit the scoreboard through Kim Lyth who snapped a goal from the ruck contest.

Bree Pascoe (Old Yarra): “Our backline stood strong all day, led by Rachel Powell and Mikayla Jevric. When our forwards started to get their hands on the footy and found space, they looked very dangerous.”

UHS-VU went on to secure their first victory of the season and look ahead as they face Old Camberwell next week.

Richmond Central 5.10.40 def Old Camberwell 2.12

Richmond Central took on Old Camberwell in their opening game after relegation from Division 1, their experience showing throughout the match, playing a top tier brand of football against Old Camberwell who were promoted from Division 3.

Richmond was nervous in front of goal early, but by the third quarter had found their feet and began to move the ball well from the midfield and give their forwards good ball use. Their work rate allowed them to hit the scoreboard with two goals in the third quarter coming from Ann-Marie Geary and Erin Eldon.

Bronte Ryan (Richmond Central): “Susannah Rennie and Emma Noonan really stood up for us, their work rate and willingness to put in repeat efforts all day lifted the team when we needed it.”

Richmond went on to win by 28 points despite some good pressure from Old Camberwell with standout players Gabby Bianco and Laura McDonald.

Nick Hooper (Old Camberwell): “With seven new players we think we will learn from the experience and get better as the season rolls on.”

Hampton Rovers 5.5.35 def Beaumaris 4.5.29

A close game saw Hampton Rovers take on Beaumaris whohad five players on debut.Two of those, Edie Dooley and Saffron Worsley,both kicked goals to get Beaumaris on the scoreboard and therefore lead the first half. The Rovers came back, however,with Beaumaris going downhill in the third quarter, suffering two injuries and thus limiting their rotations as Hampton piled on the goals with majors from Grace Bonanno, Maegan Miller and Asha Porteus.

After a few coaching moves from Beaumaris coach George Kappa, they were able to contain Hampton Rovers and hold them scoreless in the final term, helped by captain Sophie Keogh.

George Kappa (Beaumaris): “Leading from the front, our captain Sophie Keough was marking everything with our mids rebounding the ball continuously into our forwards.”

Beaumaris had trouble converting their entries inside the forward line and fell short in a close game at Castlefield Reserve.