Grand finalists for Cleaning Melbourne Division 2 and Division 3 have been decided after the preliminary finals last Sunday.
Ivies too good for Darebin, will face Stars in Division 2 grand final
Minor premier Ivanhoe has won its way through to the Cleaning Melbourne Division 2 women’s grand final after a comprehensive win over Darebin in the preliminary final.
The Ivies were never really challenged by the Falcons as they extended their lead at every break to run away with an 80-point victory.
The stars for Ivanhoe came to play after a loss against Fitzroy Stars the previous week, with Georgia Pirdis booting five majors and stand out games from Casey Clough (one goal), Emilia Bisogni, Sophie Bone and Rhiannon Campbell.
For Darebin it was the usual suspects of Hannah Brennan, Karly Mcniece, Claire Hardi, and Amy Crowden in the best players, but it was a disappointing finish to a strong season from the Falcons which saw them win two finals to have a chance at reaching the biggest game of the year. They’ll have plenty to build on over the off season as they prepare for 2027.
Ivanhoe’s win sets up a fascinating contest between the top two sides from the regular season as they face off against Fitzroy Stars at Preston City Oval this Sunday. After splitting their regular season fixtures one win apiece and only eight points separating both sides in the second qualifying final, this promises to be an epic grand final between two very evenly matched teams.
The Cleaning Melbourne Division 2 grand final gets underway at Preston City Oval at 12.05pm on Sunday.
Macleod survive a scare to progress to Division 3 grand final
Macleod has progressed to the Division 3 grand final but not without a scare against a plucky Eltham side.
It was a low scoring arm wrestle at Tony Sheehan Oval, but Eltham were just ahead at half time as the Panthers kicked two goals to the Roos’ one in the first half. The Panthers kicked the opening goal of the third term and suddenly Macleod had plenty of work to do to get itself back into the contest.
Inaccurate kicking was threatening to derail the Roos’ season – they kicked 1.6 to three quarter time and then despite peppering the goals at the start of the final quarter, still trailed with a scoreline of 1.10 (16) to Eltham’s 3.0 (18).
But Macleod’s weight of possession eventually won out, the Roos finally found the big sticks kicking the final two goals to overturn the margin and eventually hold on for a ten-point win.
Miaread Csar was best on ground for the winning side, along with Phebe D’Arro, Laila Zayat and Ally Gunstone. Csar, Zayat and Teneisha Fiore were the goal kickers for Macleod.
Therese Tynan, Marlo Gardam, Jacki White and Maegan Devine were the best of the Panthers, who were gallant and should be very proud of their efforts to make a preliminary final after finishing the regular season in fourth spot and having to come through an elimination and semi final.
The top two sides have won through to next Sunday’s grand final, with St Mary’s to face Macleod at Preston City Oval at 10am.
