YOGs shock Bullants, Animals sing for third time

Meg Saultry

Westbourne Grammarians continues to push for a top 4 berth after beating Power House by 41 points at Westbourne School Ground. The Warriors held Power House to their second lowest score for the season (behind Power House’s Round 3 loss to Preston), with the away team kicking four points for the match. The Warriors booted six goals for the day, with Lauren Spark backing up from last week’s seven goal haul to add a further two majors to her season tally. Tess Abbott and Caitlyn Snow were also dominant around the ground, ultimately leading their team to victory. The Warriors sit in fifth, with only percentage sitting between them and Yarra Old Grammarians in fourth. Power House comfortably hold onto their position in third despite the loss, with the club holding a two game buffer ahead of fourth.

Emmaus St Leo’s sung their third victory song for the season after beating South Melbourne Districts by an impressive 56 points at Lindsay Hassett Oval. While the Animals led by 15 points at the main break, it was five second half goals that did the most damage, with the Bloods notably held scoreless for the day. Emma Madgwick stood up in tough circumstances for the Bloods, but it was Emmaus St Leos’ Shannon Danckert (four goals) and Grace Baulch (Best on Ground with one goal) who shone the most. Both Emmaus St Leos and South Melbourne Districts fail to move up or down the ladder, with the Animals in seventh and the Bloods in eighth.

MCC Football Club continue to position themselves for finals, with a comfortable 44-point win over Prahan Assumption at Basil St Reserve. Holly Bailey led the way for MCC with three goals and a Best on Ground performance, as the visitors built a 27-point lead before half time which they continued to further until the final siren. Though Prahan were held scoreless for the day, Katarina Lindkvist and Anneka Mathias put in mighty efforts, while Avalon Ekberg stood alongside Bailey as another of MCC’s best. Prahan continues in sixth position, a win outside the Top 4. They now have a big three weeks ahead as they continue to push for finals. MCC remain in second, but as they sit three wins ahead of fifth, only need one more win to ultimately seal their place in the Top 4.

Yarra Old Grammarians subjected the Preston Bullants to their second loss of the season, with the Bushrangers triumphant over the top team by 36 points at W.R. Ruthven Reserve. The Bushrangers held the Bullants to six minor scores over the first three quarters, with the home side taking until the final quarter to score their lone goal. The Bushrangers, in comparison, scored three majors in the opening term before adding another four for the match to win by a straight six goals. Phoebe Wolff (five goals) and Alyssia Blewonski (two) combined to score all the Bushrangers goals, while Anna Robinson played her best game this season to finish Best on Ground. Belinda Grainger was the Bullants’ best, while Melissa Halton kicked the team’s only goal to still remain atop the overall goal tally with 24 majors. Both teams remain in the Top 4, with the Bullants able to hold onto their first place position and the Bushrangers carefully sitting in fourth ahead of the Warriors – though with a vastly superior percentage of 151.79 to the Warriors’ 94.88.