Round 6 of VFL Women's action saw the Darebin Falcons move to top spot, Melbourne Uni suffer its first defeat of the season and Geelong record win number one for the year.
Let's take a look at the results in detail:
Darebin remains undefeated
A dominant second-half has guided Darebin a sixth straight victory, defeating the Eastern Devils to reinforce its place atop the VFL Women’s ladder after Round 6.
As part of a VFL/VFL Women’s double-header at Piranha Park, the Falcons kicked 12 goals to three in the second half to remain undefeated, winning 18.9 117 to 8.5 53, as Callum O’Connor reports.
In the first half, Eastern’s relentless pressure flustered the Falcons and early in the third term the top four Devils jumped into the lead.
But over the following 15 minutes Darebin mainstays Katie Brennan, Jessica Dal-Pos and Sarah Hammond took control of the midfield and forwards Meghan McDonald, Georgia Hammond and coach Jane Lange kept the scoreboard operator working overtime. The Falcons slammed on seven goals to end the term, and showed no mercy in the last quarter to blow out the final margin to 64 points.
Lange, who made a successful return from an ankle injury to finish with three goals for the Falcons, was delighted that her players could stand up so impressively when confronted.
“Our play in the third quarter was just incredible,” said Lange after the match.
“The key is the depth of players who can change in and out of different roles – it’s the best headache I can have.”
Fast finish for Spurs
The VU Western Spurs finished the strongest against Cranbourne, with a powerful seven-goal final term to claim their third win of the season by 49 points.
In windy conditions at Frenken Homes Oval, composure and judgment were always going to be crucial. Cranbourne had plenty of both early as they played the weather better than their more fancied opponents. Ruckman Cara Moody dominated, allowing midfielders Hayley Wildes and Kirsten McLeod to generate forward entry. The Cranbourne forwards applied fantastic pressure whilst trapping the ball inside through a well-implemented zone defence. McLeod looked as if her 50th game for the Eagles would be a day out as she kicked two in the first quarter.
The Spurs still couldn’t navigate the wind as they kicked to the attacking end in the second quarter. Although captain Bree White and half-back Amy Harrison continued to sweep across the defensive side of contests, the pressure of the Cranbourne backline including Bianca Jakobsson and Corrine Cullis was resolute.
Leading by just two points at the main break, the Spurs needed to conquer the wind if they were to turn the tables on the Eagles. The answer came to them in the rejuvenated efforts of Kylie Nicolaci and Alexandra Quigley. Alongside full back Danni Teasdale, Nicolaci drove the Spurs forward against the breeze as they unexpectedly held the ball inside their attacking zone for much of the quarter. Quigley proved a livewire up forward, holding a contested mark in the square to goal and cleverly setting up another to see the Spurs hold the lead going into the final quarter.
Expecting a thriller befitting the previous three quarters, supporters of both sides were surprised by the dominance of the Spurs in the last quarter. Jess Francke dined out with three of the Spurs’ seven final quarter goals to blow the margin out to a most disproportionate 49 points.
VU Western Spurs’ coach Debbie Lee said her side were slow to adjust their game to the wind.
“In the first half we didn’t play to conditions. It wasn’t until the third quarter that we started playing smart, and you could see that reflected on the contest,” said Lee.
“What was really crucial was Mifsud in the centre, she had two clearances that led directly to goals.”
In other results:
- Geelong recorded its first win of the season with a 147-point win over Knox. While the Falcons kicked the first and last goals of the game, the home side relished the wide open spaces of Simonds Stadium to kick 22 unanswered goals, with Maddie Boyd dominant in the ruck, and Cheryl De Groot dangerous up forward with four goals. CLICK HERE for a full replay of this game
- St Kilda moved to third spot, inflicting Melbourne Uni’s first defeat of the season. Mo Hope was unstoppable up forward and up the ground with five goals, while captain and new Melbourne recruit Penny Cula-Reid was in the best.
- Seaford caused the upset of the round, completing the first win by a former VWFL Division1 team against a former Premier Division side in Diamond Creek. Despite going goalless in the first term, te Tigers nine goals to three after quarter time to record a 14-point win.
VFL Women’s will have a bye round this week for the Melbourne v Brisbane exhibition game at the MCG on Sunday.
Round 6 results
Geelong 22.22 (154) d Knox 1.1 (7)
VU Western Spurs 14.12 (96) d Cranbourne 7.6 (48)
St Kilda 7.5 (47) d Melbourne Uni 5.9 (39)
Darebin 18.9 (117) d Eastern Devils 8.5 (53)
Seaford 9.14 (68) d Diamond Creek 7.12 (54)
Round 7 fixture - Sunday May 29
Melbourne Uni v VU Western Spurs
St Kilda v Knox
Eastern Devils v Cranbourne
Diamond Creek v Darebin
Geelong v Seaford (Piranha Park)*
*VFL/VFL Women’s double header
Photo: Cameron Grimes
Last Modified on 19/05/2016 12:34
