Darebin Falcons vs Berwick Hawks
On a glorious day at Northcote Oval, the Falcons took on the Berwick Hawks, both teams fighting it out for a place in the Grand Final. The Hawks came out of the gates flying, pushing the ball forward and after some few heavily contested minutes, kicking the first goal. Naz started strong off half-back and continued to be a presence all day, taking huge marks and spoiling well. The Falcons pushed forward and Bec committed to a contest on the 50 metre arc, drawing a free, and then kicked to Shaz who kicked her first of five goals for the day. The Falcons then held possession up in their forward half with plenty of smart, strong play from Gemma, Trashby, Sommer and Layna setting up shots on goal, but unfortunately none could find the big sticks. Berwick managed to finally push forward but Michelle was excellent out of full back, with her repeat efforts holding the ball up. Taz consistently provided an option on the wing, moving the ball forward. After a wayward clearing kick from Berwick landed in Trashby’s hands on the arc, she spotted up Buckets in front of goal whose mighty clutch literally flattened the ball. Unfortunately the shot on goal was rushed through. Berwick endeavoured to continually clear the ball, but Cassie, running back with the flight to take a fantastic grab, and Kerro through the middle, made their task difficult.
The Falcons got off to fantastic start in the second quarter, Naz took a huge mark on half back and after a quick transition downfield, Bec hand-passed to Buckets in the goal square who kicked her first for the day. Berwick pressed again, but the Falcons backline persisted. Trashby, in another trademark hard-ball get, won the ball off the wing, pushed it forward to Matty whose quick hands set up Gemma for a major. Socksy began to get her hands on the taps in the ruck contests and was doing her own roving as well. A free-flowing five minutes saw quick transitions in both directions of the ground. Berwick continued to press, but the Falcons had plenty of support and Lexi forced a fantastic clearance that propelled the ball down the ground quickly where Shaz roved expertly in the pocket and snapped a goal. Next Sommer dispossessed a Hawk out of the centre, won the free and found Shaz again who snapped another. To round out a fantastic quarter, Kate roved a quick kick out of the centre to Mattie whose snap on goal was helped through by Bec.
After half-time Berwick attacked, but were short on luck. Sommer was tough through the middle, winning possession. After receiving the ball from Trashby, Bec kicked to a pack in the goal square and Niki took a fantastic finger-tip mark out the back and slotted through a goal. Gemma then chopped off a Berwick kick in the centre, pushing the ball forward where Bec in the pocket found Shaz who kicked another. Berwick responded by pummelling the ball forward but could only manage a point. The Falcons won the ball back and Bec took a strong mark on the arc, and earned a 25m penalty after a Hawker literally kicked her while she was down. Another attack forward from Aliesha’s booming boot out of the middle found Taz who roved around a couple and was protected by a great shepherd from Matty resulting in Taz having a clear and successful shot on goal. Aliesha continued to present through the middle, chopping off Berwick’s attempts to clear their backline and moving the ball forward, with one effort ending up with a huge mark from Shaz who slotted her fifth goal after the siren.
The final quarter opened with a quick Falcons’ clearance, with Cath kicking to Buckets in the pocket who found the big sticks. The Falcons kept pushing and a kick-in from Berwick landed in Gemma’s hands who slotted through another in one of Potter’s coveted 7-point-plays. Berwick then pushed hard, dominating possession and making several attempts forward putting the Falcon’s backs under pressure. Naz and Michelle were fantastic, providing contests and holding up the Hawks’ attacks. A Berwick player tried to knock herself out on Taz’s head, and got a free kick for her troubles but the Falcons responded with an excellent final few minutes. Mattie found Buckets in the forward pocket who (after losing her shorts) centred the ball to Aliesha who kicked a much deserved goal. Straight away, a centre clearance spotted up Buckets who kicked another.
A fantastic, confident game from the Reserves. Good luck next week!
Darebin 1.5, 6.7, 10.11, 14.15 (99)
Berwick 1.0, 1.1, 1.4, 2.5 (17)
GOALS, Darebin : Sharon Roussos 5, Julia Boyle 3, Gemma Anderson 2, Niki Duckstein 1, Aliesha McLean 1, Rebecca Hickmott 1, Taryn Escreet 1 Berwick Hawks : Lauren Chalkley 2
BEST, Darebin : Taryn Escreet, Tracy Ashby, Sharon Roussos, Sommer Portway, Gemma Anderson, Norieul Kinross Berwick Hawks : Emily Leo, Ashleigh Fennell, Shannon Barnes, Chelsea Smith, Emily Nadj, Jenna Ralph