Darebin's hattrick of premierships was completed with perhaps their finest performance yet, kicking six final quarter goals to sink Diamond Creek by 63 points as Michael Thompson reports.
Perhaps most crucially, the Falcons were able to hold the Creekers goalless in the all-important opening quarter with the wind, while kicking two goals of their own.
It was a hot pace early, with both sides attacking the footy with great intent. Diamond Creek had the territorial battle won for much of the opening 10 minutes, but were unable to generate any real scoring opportunities.
Instead, Elise O'Dea hit the scoreboard first for the Falcons, kicking a neat goal from 35 out on the run. The Falcons, as a result, were sparked into action, as Daisy Pearce was industrious both in defense and around the midfield, and the likes of best on ground Darcy Vescio started to get opportunities up forward. Co-captain Jane Lange extended the Falcons lead, when she kicked their second goal.
The 11-point quarter time lead looked likely to be extended with Darebin kicking with the Harding Street breeze in the second quarter. However, early on, it looked as though this would fail to materialise into a match-winning half time lead, as the Falcons were unable to convert a number of set shots – with the likes of Katie Brennan and Vescio guilty of missing gettable shots.
However, both Brennan and Vescio were able to bounce back and kick crucial goals – both taking great marks to extend the Falcons' lead to 30 points at the main break.
The second half opened with plenty of feeling between both sides, with opposing co-captains Pearce and Steph Chiocci lining up alongside one another with the match still there to be won. However, the quarter would belong to Chiocci as she did everything in her power to will Diamond Creek closer to the Falcons. Chiocci kicked a splendid goal on the run and was able to generate opportunities to the likes of Rebekah Sibernaler, who converted for the Creekers' second goal of the game.
However, the Falcons had every answer. Vescio was able to split the two Creekers' goals with another big contested mark and goal, keeping the Creekers' at bay as the game moved into its final stanza, with the Falcons still up by 22 points.
Again, the Harding Street breeze had a big say in the final quarter, yet the Falcons were able to completely dominate irrespective of their advantage. The Creekers were running out of legs and ammunition, with Katie Loynes injuring her knee and Chiocci tweaking her ankle, and Sarah Hammond took advantage, kicking the sealer for the Falcons.
From there, it was party time. Georgia Hammond and Lauren Arnell kicked brilliant goals, before Jane Lange took advantage of Diamond Creek's frustration to convert a free kick from right in front. Brennan kicked the final two goals of the game to top it all off, with the Falcons ticking the scoreboard over to a 10 goal margin.
Darebin WFC 2.2 4.9 5.10 11.15 (81)
Diamond Creek WFC 0.3 0.3 2.6 2.6 (18)
GOALS:
Darebin WFC: Brennan 3 Lange 2 Vescio 2 O'Dea Arnell Hammond Hammond
Diamond Creek WFC: Sibenaler Chiocci
BEST:
Darebin WFC: Vescio Privitelli Egan Arnell O'Dea Dal Pos
Diamond Creek WFC: Williams Corrigan Haines Chiocci Dillon Lawless
Last Modified on 18/09/2015 10:29