Hearts hand Hawks first loss, as De La Salle survive late scare against Renegades

Albert Park 6.9 45 def Fitzroy 2.3 15

It was a dewy morning in Albert Park for their clash with Fitzroy. The Falcons kicked three goals to none in the first quarter. However, they only managed to kick three more for the game with Fitzroy’s defence tightening up. Fitzroy were unable to take advantage of the reduced scoring only kicking two for the day.

Albert Park coach Anthony De Jong was pleased with his team’s victory. “We had the scoring end in the first quarter and were able to make the most of our opportunities to score three first quarter goals which gave the team a lot of confidence for the remainder of the match. We were pleased with our pressure and contested work led by Bridget Turner in the midfield. Van Gan was solid across half back whilst also keeping an eye on some dangerous Fitzroy forwards. Our forwards worked well together with Zoe Dragoi and Ashlea Wilson both scoring two goals.”

Fitzroy coach Liz Olney lauded her team’s efforts in a tough game. “Best game played by the juniors in the team who are starting to feel comfortable in senior football. (We) started strong with good pressure, using last game as a springboard. (Our) physicality had increased and we are stepping up to it and are starting to see training patterns coming through. Accountability is something that we will focus on in coming weeks.”

Old Haileybury 5.13 43 def Hawthorn 0.5 5

Old Haileybury knocked off the second-placed Hawks with ease. The Hearts were great both defensively and offensively taking advantage of their opportunities keeping the Hawks goalless for the game and kicking five of their own. The result shows the Hearts can be a real force this year in Division 3.

Hawthorn coach Aaron Miller admitted they were out classed by the Hearts. “Haileybury was too strong in the contest for (us) yesterday, not giving us any time or space. After losing two players in the first quarter to injury, the Hawks’ girls really fought hard considering we had very little rotations. We’ll go back to training and work on a few things and hopefully turn it around next week.”

De La Salle 1.2 8 def Brunswick 1.1. 7

A defensively dominated thriller saw ladder leader De La Salle take home the four points. De La Salle kick their only goal in the first quarter before being held scoreless for the remainder of the game whilst it was the Renegades who broke through in the third to bring it back to a point margin before the defences grinded it out in the last quarter not letting either team break through.

De La Salle coach David Lappage was pleased with his team’s victory in the tight contest. “This was a game that turned into a battle of the two teams’ defences, with both Brunswick and ourselves proving difficult to break through. I was pleased with the run we generated through the midfield which gave us a number of opportunities, but we couldn’t capitalise on these due to Brunswick’s stifling defence. Still plenty to work on, but there are some real positives for us out of these first four rounds.”

Renegades coach Amy Dillon praised her team’s improvements from last week as they continue to fight for their first win. “The game was a tough contested slog with one-percenters the highlight of the day, with hard spoils, courageous smothers and great battles all across the ground trying to get the ball forward and nullify De La Salle’s efforts. The backline was… working as one cohesive unit to keep De La Salle scoreless after half-time. The pressure was present all game, especially in the last quarter. Our midfield battled hard all day in a joint effort to keep the ball pushing forward at all costs. The forward line made some great improvements after last week’s game with some hard leads providing multiple options going towards goal.”

Port Melbourne forfeit, with Mazenod taking away the four points.