Premier Reserves: VU ST ALBANS v DAREBIN
On a fabulous day at Montello Holden Oval in Coburg, the Falcons reserves took on the Spurs. In a rematch of the semi-final, the Falcons were determined to put the memory of that loss behind them and take home their third consecutive cup.
The game got off a tense start with the ball travelling quickly back and forth between both halves for the first few minutes. Aliesha McLean was immediately dominant, racking up disposals and was a consistently imposing presence all day. Kerro was strong off half-back and a quick clearance from her through Taz, Trash, Tory and Gemma ended in a juggled mark from Bec who saw the open goal and quickly played on to open the scoring for the day. The Falcons continued to control possession but were coming up short on goals. The Spurs finally got a quick ball into their forward line and snapped from the city-end pocket to get their first for the game. The Falcons immediately responded with a huge clearance from Socksy that ended up in the hands of Cath who played on and scored truly. Naz was fantastic in the backline and through the ruck, after already putting in two huge finals performances in the previous weeks. A huge backline smother from her quickly ended up in Cath’s hands again who kicked her second goal for the term. The Spurs however were still pushing and when they moved the ball quickly into their forward line they looked dangerous. An unlucky kick out ended in a Spurs mark and they converted.
Carrying an eight-point lead into the second quarter, the Falcons kept the Spurs scoreless for the term. Michelle was strong at full back taking huge marks and keeping the pressure on the Spurs forwards. Trashby was, to be blunt, awesome, and found her way to all the contests. A fantastic passage of play between Sommer and Bec ended in a skillful rove by Aliesha and a snap for goal from deep in the pocket that would have bought the house down if it hadn’t hit the post. Cath, Shaz and Kate were fantastic in attack, applying plenty of forward pressure and rattling the Spurs defenders. After a boundary throw-in, Taz passed to Gemma who snapped to the top of the square where Shaz took a strong mark and kicked truly. The Falcons kept control of possession into the break.
After half time, it was a tough contest straight off the bat. The Spurs got the first clearance and had a shot from in front of goal but managed only a point. The Spurs continued to press and were playing on at every chance and finally slotted their first goal since the first quarter. Gemma was working hard, taking sliding marks and getting to the contests. The Falcons were persisting in a scrappy patch of footy to lock the ball in the forward line but only managing behinds. Finally a strong mark from Trashby from a kick in finished with Taz slotting through a goal. Another clearance from Naz and a quick transition resulted in a successful snap from Mattie soon after.
The final quarter was a scrappy contested affair as the heat and intensity of the day caught up with the players. Both teams were held goalless in the term but continued to press and put pressure on one another with the Falcons maintaining their lead.
A fantastic season and a magnificent game under pressure. Congratulations to all the players and huge thanks and congratulations to Potter!
Darebin 3.3, 4.7, 6.9, 6.12 (48)
VU St Albans 2.1, 2.1, 3.2, 3.4 (22)
GOALS, Darebin: Cath Rees 2, Taryn Escreet 1, Rebecca Hickmott 1, Sharon Roussos 1, Matilda Keynes 1
VU St Albans: Ash Stafford 1, Alana Tully 1, Brooke McKinley 1
BEST, Darebin: Tracy Ashby, Aliesha McLean, Norieul Kinross, Gemma Anderson, Victoria Pettit, Kerryn Stephens
VU St Albans: Alana Tully, Christina Polatajko, Samantha Johnson, Lianne Salerno, Melanie Devlin, Alana Bell
BEST ON GROUND: Gemma Anderson – Darebin Falcons
– Premier Division: VU ST ALBANS v DAREBIN
Well there’s not much to say about a day that most of us would like to forget, but you know you’re not doing well when even Tessa is going for the other team. A disappointing day but perhaps exactly what was needed to keep the fire in the belly burning.
Congratulations to the team on a fantastic year and to Macca for all her hard work throughout the season. Well done to the Spurs on a great year and a fantastic grand final performance.
VU St Albans 4.0, 8.1, 11.4, 16.6 (102)
Darebin 2.1, 2.4, 3.4, 3.5 (23)
GOALS, VU St Albans: Amy Catterall 5, Kylie Nicolaci 3, Bree White 1, Kaz Paxman 1, Dale Robinson 1, Belinda Hateley 1, Jen Plumb 1, Debbie Lee 1, Georgia Harris 1, Amanda Walsh 1
Darebin: Samantha Smith 1, Alana Wearne 1, Alisha Habib 1
BEST, VU St Albans: Kaz Paxman, Bree White, Amy Catterall, Shannon McFerran, Kylie Nicolaci, Lauren Bazeley
Darebin: Daisy Pearce, Natalie Wood, Aasta O’Connor, Kathleen Roe, Sarah Hammond, Julia Chiera
LISA HARDEMAN MEDALIST: Karen Paxman – VU St Albans