In their inaugural season in the NFNL senior women’s competition, Ivanhoe are the first team into the Cleaning Melbourne Division 2 Grand Final, after defeating minor premiers West Preston-Lakeside by 27 points at Epping Recreational Reserve.
Scores were level at the main break following a tight opening half, before the Ivies turned on the pressure in the final two terms, kicking six of the next eight majors of the match to secure an 8.7 (55) to 4.4 (28) victory over the Roosters.
Ivanhoe will now head into the decider in a fortnight’s time on the back of an 11-game unbeaten streak, as they look to make history.
West Preston-Lakeside meanwhile have now lost two of their previous three matches and will need to defeat an in-form Lower Plenty outfit in next week’s preliminary final if they are to return to the big dance for the first time since 2018.
The Ivies’ star midfield trio of Emilia Bisogni, Olivia Fogarty and Molly Uwland were key to their side’s excellent second half, consistently winning the ball from stoppages and driving the team deep into attack.
Georgia Pirdis was the beneficiary of her team’s multiple inside 50 entries and rewarded her teammates’ efforts with some great marks as well as three goals. Federica Frew was the Ivies’ other multiple goalscorer with two.
For West Preston-Lakeside, Isabel Young was often the one to provide spark up forward, finishing as the side’s leading goalkicker with two goals.
Captain Chloe Kalanj and Sarina Galati also fought hard in midfield and defence and were standouts in the first two quarters.
Ivanhoe’s midfield unit looked to set the tone of the second semi-final, winning some key clearances, but the Roosters’ defence stood tall and only conceded two behinds initially.
There was minimal separation between the two sides for the remainder of the opening quarter until a Pirdis major after the siren saw the Ivies gain an eight-point advantage heading into quarter time.
West Preston-Lakeside fired right back in the early stages of the second term, with Rachel Scully finding the big sticks at the six-minute mark.
But having most of the territory for the remainder of the term, the Roosters were unable to put much more damage on the scoreboard, with the minor premiers kicking two of the next three behinds before Ivanhoe kicked a goal against the run of play courtesy of Frew.
Fortunately for West Preston-Lakeside, they were able to answer right back shortly before half time, when club leading goalkicker Isabel Young kicked her 11th major of the season.
With both sides on 2.3 (15) apiece approaching the third term, the game was anyone’s to break open.
It would prove to be Ivanhoe who settled back into the contest quicker, as through their ability to dominate territory, Pirdis and Fogarty would kick goals to give their side a 13-point lead halfway through the quarter.
As the pressure mounted on the Roosters, the Ivies kept pushing further ahead and when Pirdis booted a third goal, the game looked to be getting away from the minor premiers.
But a late major from Young gave West Preston-Lakeside hope, setting their deficit to chase at 14 points at three quarter time.
Ivanhoe looked to put the game to bed just minutes into the final term, when Sophie Callahan kicked her third major of the season to restore a 20-point lead.
Alyssa Delos responded almost immediately for West Preston-Lakeside with a goal of her own, before the Ivies were able to slow the tempo and get the game on their terms during the middle stages of the fourth term.
They would seal the game with the last two majors of the match to earn their place in the 2024 Cleaning Melbourne Division 2 Women’s Grand Final.
