Caulfield & Kew Fire as St Kevin’s return to winners’ list

Caulfield Grammarians continued to set the benchmark in the Premier Women’s competition, while Old Geelong and St Kevin’s returned to the winners’ list. Kew also strengthened their finals credentials with a hard-fought victory over Fitzroy.

Old Brighton 2.4 (16) def by Caulfield Grammarians 9.12 (66)

Caulfield Grammarians produced another polished four-quarter performance to defeat Old Brighton, but the scoreboard didn’t fully reflect the progress shown by the Tonners in their debut William Buck Premier Women’s season.

Old Brighton was highly competitive for long periods before Caulfield’s pressure and class proved decisive in the final term.

Ebony Angelopoulos starred with three goals, while Kylie Lynch and Olivia Rundle each added two majors. Angelopoulos, Cheree Peters and Rundle led the way and were named in the best for the ladder leaders.

For Old Brighton, Tiger Doultree and Jasmine Tait were the lone goalkickers, with Sienna Briscoe, Doultree and Lily Tait continuing their impressive seasons.

Grammarians coach Danielle Di Stefano said her side’s finish was the most pleasing aspect of the performance.

“I was mostly pleased with our strong finish in tricky conditions. Old Brighton have shown they finish games strong so we knew they would throw everything at us in the last quarter, but we lifted the pressure and intensity.”

Di Stefano also praised her forwards’ work rate and said the club would use their final bye to freshen up before the run to finals.

Despite the defeat, Old Brighton coach Pat Malone was encouraged by how much his side has improved since the opening meeting between the clubs.

“There was plenty to like despite the result. Our ball movement is much sharper, our execution has improved significantly, and we’re playing with far more confidence.”

Malone highlighted Tiger Doultree’s return to the midfield, Lily Tait’s impact around the ground, Sienna Briscoe’s continued development and Sophie Grant’s leadership in defence.

Old Geelong 6.9 (45) def Westbourne Grammarians 1.2 (8)

Old Geelong put in a strong performance with a victory over Westbourne Grammarians.

Tessa Longden continued her outstanding form with three goals, while Genevieve Ednie, Jessie Gleeson and Charlotte Mackenzie all hit the scoreboard. Camilla Taylor, Maddy Seebeck and Longden were named in the best.

Danielle Marshall kicked Westbourne’s only goal, while Sarah Dickie, Mia Graf and Olivia Cavka battled hard throughout the afternoon.

Old Geelong coach Jack Crameri believes his side is building nicely at the right time of year.

“We are playing some good footy at the moment, our form is up. Westbourne were really tough and a well-coached team. We shut out their key forwards by controlling the ball and winning at clearance and contest throughout the day.”

St Kevin’s 4.8 (32) def West Brunswick 2.8 (20)

St Kevin’s broke through for an important victory, defeating West Brunswick by two goals after several encouraging performances without reward.

Sarah Cameron continued her excellent season with two goals, while Devina Lai and Erin Woodford also hit the scoreboard. Mia Giannopoulos, Cameron and Woodford were also among their best.

Alex Trollip and Bronte Whyte kicked the Magpies’ goals, while Charlotte Gervasoni, Trollip and Whyte also impressed.

St Kevin’s coach Jaime Pi felt the result reflected the improvement his group has shown over recent weeks.

“I thought it was a pretty strong performance, given our last month. We were able to get a win against a quality opponent.

“Ball use and taking care of the footy has been a key focus for us. We got a lot of belief after the Caulfield game last week and have built upon that.”

West Brunswick coach Ryan Wandel believed poor conversion proved costly.

“Our inaccuracy in the first half was particularly displeasing. We blew a number of opportunities to put more score on the board and it meant we were playing catch-up for the rest of the game.”

Wandel praised Charlotte Gervasoni, Alex Trollip, Bronte Whyte, Olivia Artaiz and Amy Marshall for their performances despite the loss.

Kew 5.5 (35) def Fitzroy 4.2 (26)

Kew claimed a valuable win over Fitzroy in another fiercely contested encounter.

Ash Bruce led the way with three goals, while Krystal Shaw and Gemma Smith each added one. Millie Lang produced another dominant display alongside Catia Cococcia and Lily Barr.

Fitzroy shared their four goals between four individual goalkickers, with Isobella Hishongwa-Gibb, Susie Carr and Milla Lappin among the Lions’ best.

Kew coach Mannie Di Parsia praised Kew’s complete team performance.

“What an incredible day for Kew.”

He highlighted Millie Lang’s dominant 27-disposal, nine-mark performance, while Lily Barr and Catia Cococcia stood tall in the tense final quarter.

Kew controlled territory throughout the contest, finishing with 32 inside 50s to Fitzroy’s 16, before kicking the final two goals to seal the nine-point victory.

Fitzroy coach Nathan Jumeau was encouraged despite the defeat.

“I was really happy with our game overall. We had a lot of players stepping up and playing different roles.”

He identified ball use as the key improvement area for the run home, while praising Bella Hishongwa-Gibb, Susie Carr, Maddie Smith and Bel Woolcock for their performances.

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Looking ahead to Round 14, Fitzroy will host Westbourne Grammarians, Kew will travel to face Old Brighton, West Brunswick will face off with Old Geelong, Old Scotch are set to take on St Kevin’s and Caulfield Grammarians have the week off.