A record VWFL crowd packed into NAB Oval Preston on a glorious afternoon to witness the 2007 VWFL Premier division senior Grand Final. The reigning premier Darebin were undefeated going into the game and started favourite against an in form Melbourne Uni outfit who were coming off a stirring preliminary final win over St Albans at the G last Saturday.
The Mugars were forced to make a change to their team after losing Natalie Wood to injury during the preliminary final. The Mugar faithful were delighted when inspirational leader Michelle Dench who has missed a large chunk of the 2007 season due to work commitments took her place in the team. The game was tight in the first quarter as players from both teams fought to over come nerves and get their hands on the Sherrin. The Falcons had more scoring shots but trailled at quarter time by three points.
The second quarter belonged to the Mugars as they ran, chased and tackled superbly kicking four unanswered goals to go in at the main break with a thirteen point lead. Mugar Alex Kelly was seemingly everywhere, laying great tackles and sneaking forward to kick goals. Jess Egan and Kirsty Suffield gave the Mugars great drive and run and Cecilia McIntosh was very elusive up forward. The Mugars were able to shut down some of the Falcons key play makers and went into half time with all the momentum. A look at the stats showed that both teams had four scoring shots for the quarter but the Mugars kicked four goals straight compared to the Falcons two goals two behinds.
They call the 3rd quarter the premiership quarter and the Falcons didn't disappoint as they dominated all over the ground slamming on four goals while keeping the Mugars scoreless. Daisy Pearce and Kathy Zacharopoulos broke free of the shackles and seemingly found the ball at will continually driving the Falcons into attack. The Mugar backline which was very well led by Kristen Douglas and Jane Clifton was under constant attack and had to work over time and at 3 quarter time the Falcons had turned a thirteen point deficit into a thirteen point lead. The siren couldn't come soon enough for the Mugars and the crowd was wondering if the flood gates were about to open.
The never say die Mugars fought the game right out with their accuracy keeping them in the hunt all day. The Mugars remarkably kicked eight goals straight while the Falcons ended the day with more than double the number of scoring shots on the board, running out winners by twenty two points. Inspirational Falcon defender Roi Boutsikakis was named best on ground while Daisy Pearce, Kathy Zacharopoulos and Sarah Hammond gave the Falcons great run and drive and Moana Hope was a constant focal point in attack finishing the day with three goals.
The Mugars were gallant and gave the reigning premiers a real fright but perhaps the hard prelim final at the G took too much out of them as the Falcons had more run in the second half. Congratulations must go to the Darebin Falcons who were undefeated in 2007 and went back to back today. And in a great sign for women's football the competition is very much alive and well. Don't forget pre season starts very soon, bring on 2008!
DAREBIN: 2.3 4.5 8.7 10.10 (70) MELBOURNE UNI: 3.0 7.0 7.0 8.0 (48) GOALS DAREBIN: Moana Hope 3 Janine Milne 1 Julia Boyle 1 Nicole Brown 1 Anna Schwager 1 Alisha Habib 1 Candace Robson 1 Sarah Hammond 1
GOALS MELB UNI: Cecilia McIntosh 2 Alex Kelly 2 Michelle Dench 1 Dale Robinson 1 Michelle Aurisch 1 Lizzie Williams 1
BEST DAREBIN: Roi Boutsikakis (Best on ground) Kathy Zacharopoulos Sarah Hammond Emma Kerry Daisy Pearce Nic Brown
BEST MELB UNI: Kristen Douglas Jane Clifton Jess Egan Kirsty Suffield Alex Kelly Belinda Blay
Last Modified on 08/03/2008 18:11