St Kilda has won the Cottons VWFL Division 1 premiership with a convincing 44-point win over Melbourne Uni.
The Sharks left it till the season finale to break through for their first win against the Muggars in season 2014, erasing the heartbreak of a golden point defeat in the Semi Final to claim the title 8.12 60 to 2.4 16.
A dominant four goal to nil first term set up the victory for St Kilda, as the Sharks created opportunities at will. Tamara Hyett was busy early in the first term, marking strongly and reading the play well to produce back to back goals to end the quarter and give her side a 31 point lead.
The Sharks defence ensured the ball did not enter the Melbourne Uni forward half in the opening term, but in the second quarter Melbourne Uni start to produce better run out of the middle to push forward for the first time.
Three minutes into the quarter Uni opened its account for the game, and they followed this up with a snap goal to Eugenia Tsiakalakis to reduce the margin to 25 points. The goal Uni hoped would spark them into action after they had majority of play in their forward half was short lived, as Hyett kicked her third little over a minute later to push St Kilda’s lead back out to 31 points. This was extended by a point at half time, to see the Sharks in command with a 32-point lead.
It did not look like good news for eventual best on ground winner Ashleigh Bertagno as she left the field just before half time after a knock, but she returned for the second half to stamp her authority on the game gaining plenty of possessions in the middle. The ruck work of Rachel Achampong was a key to St Kilda gaining first use of the ball, as the Sharks kept Melbourne Uni scoreless during the third term, while adding one of their own to Jenny Male – her second – to take an unassailable 40-point lead into the final term.
St Kilda went through the motions in the final term, as their defence locked down and ensured a Melbourne Uni fight back would not be a possibility. Michelle Hall kicked her first and Hyett added her fourth as the Sharks started to celebrate. A late goal to Jane Wieselmann was a consolation for Uni, as St Kilda took the title by 44-points.
See below the speech by St Kilda winning coach Marnie Rosenberg after the game:
Last Modified on 10/09/2014 11:24