The final round of the home and away season in the NFNL Women’s Competition saw teams continuing to build form ahead of finals.
Heidelberg Golf Club Division 1
In a tight tussle at Warringal Park, Montmorency 1 made it three wins on the trot with a six-point triumph over Heidelberg. After both sides kicked one goal in the opening quarter, the Tigers kicked the only goal of the second term to lead by four points at half time. Neither side was able to kick a major in the third before the Magpies kicked the only goal of the last term to secure the 2.8 (20) to 2.2 (14) victory at home. Shelby Lemire kicked the only two goals for the Magpies and was one of their better players alongside Madeline Ellis and Hannah Scott. April Thompson was also the only goalkicker for the Tigers while Mia Tascone, Danika Spamer and Nikki Watts continued their excellent seasons.
St Mary’s claimed their fourth consecutive minor premiership in the women’s competition with a 67-point victory over Ivanhoe at Whatmough Park. Troy Bickerton’s side kicked two goals in the opening quarter before adding another two in the second to lead by 26 points at the main break. The home side the proceeded to kick six goals to no score in the second half to win 10.9 (69) to 0.2 (2). Meg Girolami kicked five goals while Georgia Kitchell, Emmison Zealley and Jessica Fitzpatrick yet again had a major impact for the Burra. Talya Callahan and Sophie Bone capped off their excellent seasons with fighting performances for the Ivies.
And in the final game of the regular season in the women’s competition, Diamond Creek Women’s 1 claimed a 15-point win over Eltham in their twilight fixture at Plenty Park Oval. The Creekers kicked three goals to one in the opening quarter before kicking four goals to two in the second to lead by 26 points at the main break. Darren Cardamone’s side then kicked the first four goals of the second half before the Creekers kicked the final two to seal the 9.7 (61) to 7.4 (46) triumph. Linda Thorp kicked five goals to make it 14 goals from her last two games and 42 for the season while Holly Pink, Heidi Gifford and Maykaylah Appleby were all excellent. Brianna Cowley, Willow Priest and Abbey Vaughan all had excellent games for the Panthers who’s leading goalkicker on the day was Michaela Molenberg with four.
Cleaning Melbourne Division 2
Panton Hill ended their season on a high with a 12-point victory over Hurstbridge at Ben Frilay Oval. The home side kicked the opening two goals of the game in the first term before the Redbacks kicked the next two in the second to take a two-point lead at the main break. Scott Walker’s side retained that lead at three quarter time before kicking two goals to nil in the last to win 4.5 (29) to 2.5 (17). Stephanie Jacobson and Angela Milesi were excellent alongside Amelia Pullyblank. Ruby Butterfield, Melissa Martini and Brooke Taylor capped off excellent seasons for themselves for the Bridges.
At Montmorency Park South Oval, Fitzroy Stars claimed a thrilling one-point victory over Lower Plenty in what was a hard fought and close contest. Neither side was able to kick a goal in the opening half, with scores settling on three behinds to two in favour of the Stars at the main break. After another goalless term in the third, the Bears kicked the first goal of the game midway through the last quarter through Chenara Rogers before Bonnie Kairouz kicked the next and final goal of the game to confirm the victory for the Stars 1.8 (14) to 1.7 (13). Rachele Carrozza was superb in the victory for the Stars alongside Leah Seeto and Medika Bonney whilst the Bears were well led yet again by Shae Audley, Olivia Henry and Meaghan Lewis.
Darebin 1 locked in fourth spot on the table with a 49-point victory over South Morang at Mill Park Lakes Reserve. Dylan Slavin’s side kicked two goals in each of the opening two quarters to lead by four goals at half time. They then added another four goals in the second half, including three in the last quarter, to win 8.7 (55) to 0.6 (6). Claire Hardi, Amy Crowden and Karmen Wong were all key in the victory, with Wong kicking two goals alongside Carina Bronte. Mikayla Bennett, Hailey Cordova and Devony Hoare were yet again stellar for the Lions.
NFNL Division 3 Women’s
Whittlesea locked in second place on the Division 3 table with a 35-point win over Epping at the Whittlesea Showgrounds. The Eagles set the tempo in the opening quarter, kicking three goals to nil before a goal apiece in the second saw the hosts lead by 19 points at the main break. Aimee McDougall’s team then kicked two goals to no score in the second half to win 6.6 (42) to 1.1 (7). Olivia Hodgson and Harper McPherson-Goulding were stellar in the victory while Katrina Bruch kicked three of the Eagles six goals. Katelyn Hart and Cindy Turnbull capped of terrific seasons in the loss, with Turnbull the Blues only goalkicker.
Despite falling just short of a finals spot, Diamond Creek Women’s 2 gave themselves every chance of playing finals with a 27-point win over Macleod at Plenty Park Oval. The Creekers kicked one goal in each of the opening two quarters while restricting the Roos to one behind in that period. After being held scoreless in the third quarter, the Creekers kicked two goals to one behind in the last term to win 4.8 (32) to 0.5 (5). Imogen Hammond and Bentley Butler had excellent games alongside Karley Reid, with Hammond kicking three goals. Alessandra Galletti and Casey Dunnell fought hard all day for the Roos alongside Maggie O’Reilly.
North Heidelberg capped off an excellent regular season with a 113-point triumph over Darebin 2 at Shelley Street Reserve. The Bulldogs kicked five goals in the opening quarter before kicking another three goals in the second quarter to lead by 55 points at the main break. They then kicked another eight goals in the second half to secure the 16.17 (113) to 0.0 (0) win at home. Bulldogs captain Teresa Cassar kicked five goals to finish the home and away season with 41. Meg Harper, Dara Sucia and Rylee Enright were terrific for the Bulldogs while Taylah Hendy, Hazel Minimo and Lilah Summers Dixon had solid games for Darebin.
Heidelberg West locked in a third consecutive finals berth with a 60-point win over Thomastown at Heidelberg Park. Brett Pollard’s team kicked three goals in the first eight minutes of the game before then kicking another in the second to lead by 28 points at the main break. Another four goals were added to the Hawks scoreline in the second half, with the home side finishing on 8.12 (60) whilst holding Thomastown to 0.0 (0). Oliva Antonello kicked seven of the Hawks eight goals on the day and was one of the Hawks best alongside Alanah Moore and Crystal Grech.
Reservoir finished their return season in the women’s competition on a high with a 31-point win over Laurimar at Crispe Park. Troy Lange’s side kicked a goal in each of the first two terms to take a 14-point lead into half time. They then added another two goals from seven scoring shots in the second half to secure the 4.7 (31) to 0.0 (0) win. Kate Fox kicked two goals while Brigid Howell, Jacinta Brew and Giuseppina Tarantello finished their terrific seasons on a high.
Montmorency 2 locked in a double chance in finals with a 19-point triumph over Wallan at Greenhill Reserve. Wallan kicked the opening two goals of the game in the first term before the Magpies hit back in the second to reduce their half time deficit to four points. Jarryd Reynolds side then kicked four goals to just one behind in the second half to run over the top of their fellow Magpies and secure the 5.2 (32) to 2.1 (13) victory. Jemma Gersh led the way in the victory alongside Alana Gaggiano and Bridie Groves, with Gersh the only multiple goalscorer for either side on the day. Lily Borg, Chelsea Paton and Toni Gussenhoven all put in strong performances for Wallan in their final game of the season.
