Old Scotch & Old Brighton gain important wins – William Buck Premier Women’s Round 17 Review

The penultimate round of the William Buck Premier Women’s season delivered another fascinating set of results, with Old Scotch overcoming Caulfield Grammarians in a battle between two of the competition’s leading sides, while Old Brighton, Westbourne Grammarians and Fitzroy also secured important victories.

With just one round remaining, the finals picture is set for a dramatic conclusion.

Caulfield Grammarians 1.2 (8) def by Old Scotch 6.7 (43)

Old Scotch continued their impressive form heading into finals, defeating Caulfield Grammarians by 35 points in a physical contest.

Mia Cowan and Eloise Defina both kicked two goals for the winners, while Jordan Mifsud, Sophie McIntosh and Georgia Fraser-Smith were among Old Scotch’s best.

Old Scotch coach Dean Anderson was pleased with the way his side responded to Caulfield’s physical challenge and the even contribution across the ground.

“Caulfield were physically challenging and we were prepared for that,” Anderson said.

“We have been working on developing an even contribution from our players across the team and we saw that yesterday. We have an emerging group of players that are staking their claim and giving us real depth across the field.”

Anderson was particularly pleased with his side’s pressure and their ability to follow instructions, although he identified contested football and forward 50 efficiency as areas still requiring improvement.

Jordan Mifsud and Mia Cowan were outstanding despite receiving heavy attention, while Ally Bild and Mietta Kendall also impressed despite limited football this season.

“We know that Caulfield will come again and they have players to come back in. We are far from comfortable,” Anderson said.

For Caulfield Grammarians, Charlotte Skinner kicked the only goal, while Jacinta Baxter, Ebony Angelopoulos and Milly Hines were among their best.

Coach Danielle Di Stefano said her side competed hard around the football but allowed Old Scotch to escape contests too easily.

“We competed hard at the ball all day, we just let Scotch chain out of the contest and our forward 50 too easily,” Di Stefano said.

“We will look to improve our forward connection as we lead into finals.”

Old Brighton 9.6 (60) def Old Geelong 4.7 (31)

Old Brighton responded strongly to last week’s defeat, recording a 29-point victory over Old Geelong.

The Tonners found their attacking rhythm, with Sienna Briscoe, Shanelle Hodgkinson and Renee Saulitis all contributing two goals each. Lily Tait, Briscoe and Eloise McCrae were among Brighton’s best.

Old Brighton coach Pat Malone was particularly happy with his side’s ball movement.

“I was really pleased with our entries inside 50, our clearance work through the middle and, particularly, how well our forwards worked together,” Malone said.

“We’ve struggled at times to really hurt opposition teams on the scoreboard, so getting to 60 this week was a huge step forward and something we can build on.”

Malone did acknowledge that the Tonners allowed their pressure to drop at times, giving the OGs opportunities to work their way back into the contest.

The victory was an important response after last week’s disappointment, with Malone saying the group had focused on being more proactive and dictating play rather than reacting to their opponents.

“The way they responded showed plenty of resilience and belief in what we’re trying to build,” he said.

Gemma Cowin and Lily Tait impressed in their ruck-forward partnership, while Tora Fagan was strong in her ruck-defender role.

For Old Geelong, Genevieve Ednie kicked two goals, with two other individual goalkickers. Sienna Koop, Juliet Grant and Shiralee Nicholls were their best performers.

West Brunswick 3.1 (19) def by Fitzroy 5.4 (34)

Fitzroy produced one of their best team performances of the season to defeat West Brunswick by 15 points.

Stephanie Tredwell led the way in front of goal with two majors, while Fitzroy had three other individual goalkickers.

Isobella Hishongwa-Gibb, Aspen Wagner and Belinda Woolcock were among Fitzroy’s best, with coach Nathan Jumeau particularly impressed with his players who bought into their individual roles.

“Was extremely happy with yesterday’s performance, it was our best team game of footy with players buying into playing roles to get the win,” Jumeau said.

He was also pleased with Fitzroy’s ball movement and forward entries, an area the club had been looking to improve.

Jumeau singled out Hishongwa-Gibb, who produced an impressive performance in the ruck in just her second game, while Woolcock provided drive from defence.

The Magpies had three individual goalkickers in Bronte Ashworth, Madi Stewart and Sophie Stewart.

Minerva Bailey, Bronte Carlin and Victoria Holt were their best, with Bailey continuing an impressive first season.

West Brunswick coach Ryan Wandel said his side was beaten at the contest, particularly by Fitzroy’s ruck dominance.

“We were well beaten at contest, which doesn’t happen often. Their ruck was incredible and our setup plans were adjusted to shark her taps, but we struggled to find ascendancy on that front,” Wandel said.

Wandel also identified transition defence as a major issue, with Fitzroy able to punish West Brunswick when they were drawn towards the football.

“It was disappointing outcome after a good game last week, but we’ll learn from it,” he said.

Wandel also praised Bailey for her stellar first season and Bronte Carlin, who returned to the side for her first game since Round 10.

Westbourne Grammarians 5.3 (33) def St Kevin’s 1.5 (11)

Westbourne Grammarians recorded a 22-point victory over St Kevin’s, with five individual goalkickers contributing to the win.

Elsie Conroy, Temeika Cathery and Eleni Kikidis were among Westbourne’s best as they controlled the contest and limited St Kevin’s scoring opportunities.

For St Kevin’s, Holly Kenealy was the sole goalkicker, while Claire Lightfoot, Eleri Morris and Mia Giannopoulos were their best performers.

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The final round of the home and away season features West Brunswick travelling to face Caulfield Grammarians, Old Scotch host Old Brighton, Westbourne Grammarians do battle with Kew and Fitzroy take on St Kevin’s. Old Geelong has the bye.