A thrilling four-point victory confirmed a top three finish for Ivanhoe in their inaugural Cleaning Melbourne Division 2 Women’s campaign, defeating fellow finals bound side Lower Plenty at Ivanhoe Park.
The Ivies led for the entirety afternoon and took a 10-point advantage into the final change, however, they had to hold off a strong fightback from the Bears in the last term who got the margin to under a goal with five minutes remaining.
But the home side held their nerve and ended the game 4.2 (26) to 3.4 (22) victors, finishing the home and away campaign with 11 wins.
Triumph for the Ivies confirms a mouth-watering clash with the Fitzroy Stars in next week’s Qualifying Final, while Lower Plenty dropped to fourth as a result of the defeat on Sunday and will need to take the long way around if they are to win the premiership, beginning with a clash with Thomastown in the Elimination Final.
Despite the tough conditions, it was as if star forward Federica Frew still played with a dry footy for Ivanhoe. The two-time VFLW premiership player finished with three goals to make it 25 majors in nine NFNL games, while she also had multiple score involvements for her side, setting up plenty of foray’s forward.
Defender Tessa Vandergriff provided plenty of dash and class in defence and finished in her side’s best for the fourth time in the previous five weeks. Midfield duo Molly Uwland and Olivia Fogarty fought hard all day in the trenches while ruck Zoe Doyle held her own in a great battle with Bree Unthank.
Unthank was one of the Bears’ better players alongside Shae Audley for the afternoon, the latter putting her body on the line at each and every contest she was near. Meaghan Lewis was also impressive at half forward alongside Teah Stepan in defence.
It was the Ivies midfield trio of Fogarty, Uwland and Doyle though that got the hosts on top in the early stages of the game, with their efforts setting up Frew to kick the first goal of the contest inside the opening two minutes.
But Charlotte Taylor’s first major of the 2024 campaign would top Frew’s initial effort, after she produced a stunning finish from the boundary line at the 10-minute mark.
Despite some strong pressure from Lower Plenty in patches of the opening quarter, it was the Ivies that were in control, taking an 11-point advantage into quarter time.
The Bears started to gain more territory in the second term and were threatening to take the lead off their opponents with some dangerous plays forward.
But the hosts were excellent in keeping Lower Plenty at bay during the quarter and led by Vandergriff, they conceded just one behind for the term to enter the main break up by 10 points.
This trend continued in the third quarter but unlike the previous term, Ivanhoe also managed to put more scoreboard pressure on after Frew found her second major of the afternoon to take the lead out to 16 points.
The Bears didn’t drop their heads however and responded immediately through a nice Meaghan Lewis finish to get her side’s first goal of the game.
The final 12 minutes of the term saw momentum swing towards both sides at different stages, but neither were able to fully capitalise on their opportunities, helping the Ivies take a 10-point lead into the final quarter.
Ivanhoe started the final quarter well and after Frew slotted home her third major at the five-minute mark, the margin had reached a game-high 17 points.
But Lower Plenty weren’t out of the contest and looked to threaten again, with majors at the 10- and 13-minute marks of the final term seeing the deficit erase to just five points.
With momentum in their favour, the Bears pushed hard for one final goal, testing the resolve of the Ivies defence, however only one more behind was produced by the visitors for the afternoon, with Ivanhoe holding on to make it nine consecutive games unbeaten heading into finals.
