Montmorency 1 have sewn up another finals appearance in the Heidelberg Golf Club Division 1 women’s competition, after a 31-point victory over Banyule at Beverley Road Oval.
It was a tale of two halves in the twilight contest, with the Magpies kicking the last four goals of the match throughout the final two terms to solidify 5.8 (38) to 1.1 (7) win over the Bears.
Since 2017, Montmorency have made an appearance in the finals in every season and with Sunday’s triumph, they have earnt their place in the post-season again with one round of the home and away campaign remaining.
Meanwhile with their seventh loss of the year, Banyule will miss finals action for the first time in any competition since entering a women’s side in 2021.
Key to Montmorency’s victory was their midfield dominance in the second half. Madeline Gallagher, Shae Collinson and Chiara Scuderi in particular helped Warren Harris’ side dominate in stoppages, to ensure the ball was always being driven forward by the visitors.
The Magpies defensive unit was just as important to their eventual victory, particularly with their work in the opening half of the game.
At the other end, Taylah Harris and Shelby Lemire provided plenty of spark up forward, and were great with their pressure to keep the ball inside their attacking half.
There were some solid contributors for Banyule despite the loss, none more so than winger Megan Barnes who worked tirelessly to provide support at both ends of the ground with her run and carry.
Olivia Perillo also impressed around the ground, while Polly McAuliffe fought hard all day in ruck and combined well with Ava Jordan to get things going for the home side at stages of the first half.
It was the McAuliffe and Jordan duo, alongside Perillo and Barnes, who helped the Bears remain in control for most of the opening term, however that was after Lemire produced the first goal of the match inside one minute of game time.
While Banyule looked to find avenues towards goal, Montmorency remained steadfast in defence and were slowly able to turn the momentum of the game around towards the latter stages of the quarter.
The visitors would have three more shots on goal as a result but could only manage behinds and had to settle for a nine-point quarter time advantage.
Despite the deficit, the Bears continued to fight hard in attack, and their overwhelming pressure on the Magpies defence eventually saw them register their first major of the match through Rebekah Watson.
However, Montmorency were able to hold their opponents at bay for the remainder of the term despite the home side continuing to press, as the Magpies went into the main break ahead by three points.
With the visitors getting their hands on the footy often in midfield, it would take six minutes from the start of the third term for the Magpies to find their second major of the evening, courtesy of Lani Ward.
It would prove to be the major that opened up the floodgates, as a two-goal burst from Chiara Scuderi inside the last seven minutes of the term put Montmorency in complete control with a 21-point three quarter time advantage.
Despite Banyule’s best efforts, the Magpies would gain more territory in the final term, keeping the ball inside their attacking half throughout the majority of the quarter.
They could have increased the margin much further during the term but could only score behinds before Madeline Ellis put the icing on the cake with three minutes remaining, with her first major of the season solidifying Montmorency’s fourth straight in the lead up to another finals campaign.
