Round 15 – Darebin vs St Albans
Premier Reserves
The Falcons got off to a fabulous start with the wind in their third meeting with the Spurs this year, controlling the play and keeping possession. The Spurs continually tried to clear their backline but were confronted with Taz’s great marks across the fifty and Sommer’s attack on the ball. After a great tap from Socksy to Trashby, Kate finished off superbly to continue her goal-kicking season. Trashby then kicked a beautiful set shot from 35 metres out, pulling a Lloydy, carefully wiping the mud off the ball and onto her guernsey. Unfortunately, inaccurate kicking meant that the Falcons went into quarter time only twenty points up, when they had had the opportunity to bury the spurs from the get-go.
The Spurs attacked in the second quarter, however Dani (in her debut), Tory, Michelle and Eliza continually propelled the ball out of defense. Tory especially, before leaving the ground injured, provided great run of the backline. St Albans finally scored their first goal from a holding the ball decision and the Falcons responded with a seamless string of possessions from the back line, from Dani, to Tory to Mattie to Bec who handballed to Alexis whose quick hands then set up Shaz for a goal.
After half-time both teams found themselves in a scrappy contest, the Spurs were desperate and the ball was consistently turned over.
The final term saw some fantastic Falcons performances. Dani was absolutely blazing, putting in repeated second efforts. Cassie cleared the ball brilliantly from the centre, however St Albans had flooded the Falcons forward line, leading to even more scrappy play. Til kept running, smothering and applying pressure to the Spurs, who become more and more undisciplined, both on and off the pitch leading to two 25m penalties.
A great win from the Falcons, but plenty to work on leading into finals.
Darebin 2.8, 3.11, 5.14, 6.15 (51)
VU St Albans 0.0, 1.1, 2.1, 3.2 (20)
GOALS, Darebin : Rebecca Hickmott 2, Sharon Roussos 1, Kate Scodellaro 1, Tracy Ashby 1, Gemma Anderson 1
VU St Albans : Jessica Heath 2, Dale Robinson 1
BEST, Darebin : Tracy Ashby, Sommer Portway, Til Van Riel, Cassandra Barlee, Alanna Porter, Taryn Escreet
VU St Albans : Alana Tully, Alana Bell, Bridget Caddy, Bianca vellucci, Brooke McKinley, Emma Shortis
Premier Division
In a highly anticipated match, it was a gutsy battle from the first bounce. The Falcons were kicking against the wind in the first quarter and managed two quick goals to open the game. The Falcons however clicked into gear, controlling possession and attempted to set up the forwards however the Spurs were applying plenty of pressure and covering the space, a theme that would continue throughout the day.
The second quarter got off to a great start with Daisy snapping truly for goal. Schwager was winning some clean taps but the Spurs consistently held the ball in or pushed it to their advantage. Despite some mouthiness from the Spurs bench and players directed at the Umpires, the Spurs still managed to keep the game under control and continued to press forward and were often first to the ball. With just a few seconds left in the quarter, Wearnie’s great courage backing into the pack provided an opportunity for a great snap at goal from Jane.
With only a one point difference at half-time, the game was still in the balance. The ball was consistently in dispute, with all players fighting hard to deny the Spurs scoring opportunities and push the ball forward. Even the goal umpire was finding it hard to keep his feet, stacking it in front of the clubrooms. Stepho, Daisy and Habs efforts were persistent and hard at the ball, but St Albans still managed a couple of quick goals. Habs kicked a monster goal into the wind after the siren and the Falcons went into the last quarter with belief and momentum.
Unfortunately, the final term for the Falcons was a messy affair, losing our structures under the unrelenting attack of the Spurs, who kicked four quick goals. The Falcons managed to peg a few back, including Stepho’s huge goal from what seemed like 60 metres out, but the Spurs had managed to pull away at the right moment. A tough battle for all concerned.
Bring on finals!
Congratulations to Daisy and Habs on 100 games, and Hammo and Woody on 150. A fantastic achievement from four footy champions!
VU St Albans 2.0, 2.2, 4.5, 8.6 (54)
Darebin 0.0, 2.1, 3.1, 5.2 (32)
GOALS, VU St Albans : Kylie Nicolaci 2, Gemma Jones 2, Amanda Walsh 1, Amy Catterall 1, Shannon McFerran 1, Belinda Miggiani 1
Darebin : Jane Lange 2, Stephanie Simpson 1, Daisy Pearce 1, Alisha Habib 1
BEST, VU St Albans : Shannon McFerran, Lauren Bazeley, Kara Donnellan, Belinda Miggiani, Lauren Senserrick, Ashleigh Guest
Darebin : Daisy Pearce, Anna Schwager, Sarah Hammond, Alisha Habib, Stephanie Simpson, Aasta O’Connor