Diamond Creek made a statement in Round 1 of the Northpark NFLW Division 1 competition with a big win over La Trobe University at La Trobe University Oval.
A star-studded Creekers team were on top from the first siren as La Trobe battled to contain Diamond Creek’s key players in the 22.16 (148) to 0.0 (0) result.
Calder Cannons graduate and highly praised young gun Chloe Molloy – who is fresh off sharing the TAC Cup Girls best and fairest award with Dandenong Stingrays ruck Bridie Kennedy – kicked seven goals in a best on ground display.
Experienced campaigner Tanya Hetherington was a strong presence around the ground and forward duo Brittany Grech (five goals) and Beth Cruickshank proved to be a dangerous forward duo.
Molloy got Diamond Creek off to the perfect start, taking a huge mark in the goal square and kicking three of her eventual seven goals in the first quarter as the Creekers headed into the early break leading by 34 points.
Grech kicked two second-quarter goals and by half time the Creekers had opened up a 75-point buffer.
Diamond Creek midfielder Sophie Abbatangelo started to bob in and out of the game and show glimpses of her class, thanks to some handy ruck work from the towering Jacqueline Barr.
As the third term began, La Trobe started to work their way into the game with midfielder Roslyn Melican applying some intense defensive pressure around the stoppages.
The Creekers moved Molloy behind the ball and took back control of the match to kick another 11 second half goals.
In a difficult first-up match for La Trobe, captain Kate Bond and vice-captain Emily Turnbull led from the front and were the shining lights.
Earlier in the day both clubs’ Division 2 teams went head-to-head, with the Creekers winning that game 6.9 (45) to 1.0 (6).
Diamond Creek will now shift its attention to a Round 2 match-up with Kew, while La Trobe will take on Darebin.
In other NFLW Division 1 results, Kew rallied from an early deficit to beat Whitehorse by six points; VU Western Spurs downed Deer Park by 41 points; Melbourne University came away from its trip to Pascoe Vale with a 91-point win; while Bendigo proved far too good for Darebin at Queen Elizabeth Oval.
Final score: Diamond Creek 22.16 (148) def La Trobe Uni 0.0 (0)
