St Mary’s Salesian Hunt Top Spot & Beaumaris Go Big

The Division 2 Women’s finals race couldn’t be tighter, with five teams still in contention to finish as minor premiers and ladder leaders De La Salle losing their past two matches after Round 11.

St Mary’s Salesian 3.5 (23) def De La Salle 3.4 (22)

Two of the competition’s best defensive sides went head-to-head on the weekend, with the fight for top spot well and truly on.

St Mary’s Marley Cullinan opened the scoring with her first goal of the season, kicking two for the game, proving the Saints have offensive threats all over the ground.

The Saints led by two points at quarter-time and took this momentum early into the second, leading by 12 points at the main break.

St Mary’s star Lucy Dobbyn looked as dangerous as ever, slotting her 14^th for the season to give the Saints a solidlead, but the scoreboard doesn’t tell the full story.

After De La Salle’s opening goal in the first quarter, their inaccuracy cost them, kicking four behinds until their next major in the last.

De La had a lot of the footy in the second half, building scoring chances and kicking two goals late, making it a deadlock at 22 apiece with four minutes left.

That is when St Mary’s Salesian lifted again through great play from Olivia Whyte to score two more behinds and win the intense battle by two points.

The Saints have now won seven straight and are eyeing off top spot, while De La have lost their last two, but are a classy team that can build momentum heading into finals.

MCCFC 1.5 (11) def by Old Camberwell 5.7 (37)

Old Camberwell got the better of MCCFC, with a real four-quarter effort, winning by 26 points at Beaumaris Secondary College.

With at least three scoring shots in each quarter and four different goal kickers for five majors it was a real shared performance by the Grammarians.

Old Camberwell opened the goal count early, but MCC didn’t take their chances in the first quarter, with three straight behinds, trailing by five points at quarter-time.

The Grammarians put the foot down after the first break, with nine of the next 12 scoring shots, led by Bridget Facey, who had her third two goal haul of the season.

MCC’s Chenayde Reid gave them some hope, slotting their sole goal early in the third, but Old Camberwell’s response was too strong.

Isabella Burke was named in the best, setting up multiple goals yet again, lifting her game with her first goal for the season.

The Grammarians are still in touch with the top five, fighting for finals spots and with a healthy percentage boost are one of those five that can still finish on top, in a crazily close season.

Beaumaris 14.9 (93) def UHS-VU 0.3 (0.3)

Beaumaris once again showed why they are the best offensive team in the competition, with their second score of 90+ in a dominant display.

It was all out attack for the Sharks from the get-go, kicking eight of their 14 goals in the first half through slick ball movement and accuracy.

This play style was highlighted through the skills of Gabrielle Trajer and from one of Beaumaris’ most consistent performers, Ettie Kerrison, who has appeared in the best in six of her last nine games.

Renee Cahill was a great inclusion for UHS, coming in for her first game of the season and bringing the pressure to finish as their best player.

Beaumaris’ scoring power has helped them have the clear best percentage in the league and are still in a commanding second position, one game behind first.

Hampton Rovers 2.5 (17) def by Richmond Central 7.4 (46)

The final score doesn’t reflect just how close this game was through three quarters, but Richmond Central finished stronger to win by 29 points.

In tough conditions favouring one side of the ground, the Snakes took more of their chances in the second and fourth quarters to finish with a big win.

Hampton really brought the heat though, with immense pressure through the first half, just lacking some finishing skills in front of goal.

Greta Robertson and Nadia Stockwell kept the Rovers in the game, kicking goals to get the margin back down from 13 points at half-time, to five points at three-quarter-time.

Although that’s when the Snakes stepped up, powering through a pressure filled game to go all-out attack, kicking 4.1 in the last to get a much-needed win.

Erin Olden led the way with three goals for Richmond and like four other teams, they can still finish on top.

Richmond Central have third place for now and although eighth on the ladder, Hampton should be proud of a much-improved effort.