Premier Division
Darebin 3.3, 5.3, 9.5, 22.12 (144)
St Kilda 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.1 (7)
GOALS, Darebin: Shannon Egan 4, Daisy Pearce 3, Jane Lange 3, Aasta O’Connor 2, Nicole Callinan 2, Kathleen Roe 2,
Sharon Roussos 1, Kristen Douglas 1, Stephanie Simpson 1, Tracy Ashby 1, Lauren Arnell 1, Sarah Hammond 1
St Kilda: Ashleigh Bertagno 1
BEST, Darebin : Natalie Wood, Sarah Hammond, Kathleen Roe, Tracy Ashby, Gemma Anderson, Shannon Egan,
St Kilda: Claire Bourdon, Sarah Chapman, Ophela Hollway, Tammy Norquay, Sidney Cubasch, Ebony Williamson
Round 10, smack-bang-middle-of-winter, and the sun finally decided to shine onto an already dry playing field!?! Not used to being able to bounce the ball, take overhead marks, or kick long distances (unless you’re Aasta or KD), the wet weather specialists were going to need to adjust to abnormally good conditions! With the screams of St Kilda’s Luna Park in the background, and St Kilda’s Luna-tics on the sidelines, (Aasta again the focus of off-field attention) the game got underway.
Little adjustment was needed by the visitors. The first centre clearance went the Falcon’s way with a very quick forward 50 entry and it wasn’t long before the Falcon’s notched up their first major for the day. Scoring was not overly free-flowing in the first quarter, but still the ball remained mostly within the Falcon’s attacking half. Only one St Kilda forward thrust was made in the first quarter, which was quickly repelled by the always strong and reliable backline.
The Falcon’s continued to put their foot down in the second quarter and the highlights reel started to roll. Roey trumped Gemma’s early season claim for mark of the year with a screaming hanger on the wing and Daisy’s silky smooth skills were back to their best in the dry: weaving, sidestepping and goaling from long range. Niki and Loz did their best to outdo the Captain, each with their own dazzling display of ball movement through the middle of the ground for forward 50 entries. And Stepho continues to amaze with her running goals from the boundary. But it was Aasta and Shaz who took intra-team competition to a new level – Shaz winning in the end and out-marking Aasta, despite Aasta’s best efforts to spoil her team mate. 5 goals 3 were added to the scoreboard in the second, and the Falcons went into half time, pumped and hungry for more.
The premiership quarter saw the visitors kick into top gear, adding a massive 9 goals to their tally. The Falcon’s ball movement and creating of space is clearly getting better each week, and with it, a heightened team confidence. BOG Woody continues to move the ball effectively all over the ground, weaving in and out of impossibly tight spaces with ease and speed! But undoubtedly most impressive from the Falcons is their versatility. An injection of youth this week from Shannon Egan, (stepping in for rested/aging Darcy) proved flawless. Her 4 goal haul only one aspect of her impressive game. (She was appropriately drenched post match for her inability to nab 10). Richo’s shuffling of players continues, with JC and Bibby both getting quality possessions up the field. JC took on Bibby’s usual role and put her body on the line more than once, for some superb contested marks.
It took St Kilda until the final quarter to make their mark on the scoreboard, a long bouncing ball finding its way through for their only major of the day. Sharks coach, Mogford, admitting to being shell shocked at the Falcon’s ability to strangle his side, managing only 2 shots on goal. And at the other end, again the Falcons spread their goal scoring, 12 separate players getting a massive 34 shots on goal. And the Falcon’s team effort didn’t end on the field. Injured player Sommer (partially) regretting her decision to help run Richo’s messages all over the field, and youth girl Whitty giving up birthday celebrations to run water, boundary and score for both teams.
As always, an excellent team performance from the Falcons. Well done!
Premier Reserves
Darebin 3.3, 7.6, 7.9, 8.11 (59)
St Kilda 1.2, 2.3, 2.4, 3.6 (24)
Goal Kickers, Darebin: V. Pettit 3, C. Rees 2, L. Potter , R. Hickmott , K. Zacharopoulos, St Kilda: P. McWilliams
Best Players: Darebin: V. Pettit, A. Brown, R. Hickmott, T. Van Riel, T. Escreet, R. McSwain St Kilda: Not Available.
It was a beautiful day for footy at St. Kilda. The sun was shining, and we weren’t sure what to do. Being used to cold, and often wet days. Potter returned as coach, we had a couple of new faces in the team and we were pumped for another great match.
The game started and we came out hard and scored the first goal in lightning speed. We worked well together in the first half. Tilly who was a “surprise inclusion” returned from injury in good form. Tory was unstoppable; she delivered to the forward line well, and slotted a few goals herself. Elise playing her first game up from the youth team presented well up forward with strong leads and some good marking. However she was unlucky not to get a major score. By half time we were five goals up and feeling pretty confident.
The third quarter proved more challenging. St. Kilda went in much harder at the ball. Bec took a knee to the eye and had to come off. Rechelle, our other youthie showed good form. She ran hard and didn’t show any signs of stopping. While the ball rarely left our forward half, we were unable to score a goal.
The last quarter was another tough one. Coach Potter was once again strong in the attack and was rewarded with a goal. We were all getting pretty tired, but stayed strong against the determined Sharks.
Overall, a great game from the Falcons. Getting the win against a much more confident St. Kilda from the team we played only two months ago.