Top 4 vs Bottom 4 in the penultimate round of William Buck Premier Women’s

Kristin Sims

With a fortnight of the home and away season to go in William Buck Premier Women’s, the top four sides are set. The jostling for positions is still alive and well, and as we move into this week, the bottom four face the top four with a chance of feathers being ruffled high on the forecast.

It was a fast-paced game from the first bounce when Old Xaverians took on West Brunswick with both teams going hard and fast for the ball. With both teams in similar spots on the ladder it was an even contest with neither team able to get themselves clear ahead in the play. In the first quarter, the play was concentrated through the middle of the ground as there were lots of turnovers in this spot from the pressure coming from both teams. In the second quarter West Brunswick started to show some promising signs, getting an early goal to put the pressure on Old Xaverians. After more back and forth through the middle of the ground West Brunswick made great use of space and added another goal to give themselves a slight lead going into halftime. In the third quarter things tightened up again early on but Old Xaverians started to use the outside of the ground more as the quarter went on and were threatening to break open in attack. Old Xaverians continued to run with West Brunswick and scored themselves a much-needed goal to keep themselves right in the contest. West Brunswick showed strong determination to slow the momentum that Old Xaverians had been building across the quarter. In the last term Old Xaverians had most of the play early and were looking to slow down the game, controlling possession with short kicks. The change of pace worked in their favour as they got themselves a crucial goal to take the lead early on. West Brunswick struggled to get the ball out of their defensive half, as Old Xaverians had the middle of the ground locked down. Unable to get a score on the board after half time West Brunswick weren’t able to get back the momentum and Old Xaverians came away with the victory.

The game between Kew and Marcellin got off to a slow start with both teams struggling to adapt to the muddy conditions. Marcellin took advantage of the conditions in their own way, by keeping the normally fast attacking Kew quiet for the first part of the game. After the first break Kew started to find their feet and began to show the running and ball movement that has seen them only drop two games this season. The result in the change of pace for Kew was a three goal quarter, and backing that up at the other end of the ground they kept Marcellin scoreless for the entire first half. From here all Kew needed to do was maintain the lead that they had built and continue to keep Marcellin away from goals. As conditions worsened on the ground getting a score at all became difficult for both teams, with neither side hitting the scoreboard in the third term. The final term of the game followed the same pace as the first quarter with both teams fighting over the ball on the ground in the contest and neither side really getting a full run of play. Turnovers were common on both sides but it was the Kew defence who worked hard to keep the ball out of the Marcellin forward fifty. Kew as they have been able to all year found a way to break through again and hit the scoreboard, to come away with a 35 point win.

St Mary’s Salesian started off the game strongly when they came up against Caulfield Grammarians. St Marys were showing strong signs in defence and pressuring Caulfield to make mistakes and turnover the ball. The pressure kept St Marys in the game early as they shared the possession with Caulfield and kept Caulfield away from goals. For all the ball that St Marys were able to get they struggled to get the ball past the defence of Caulfield and get into their forward fifty. As the play went on Caulfield started to break through and take advantage of the gaps that they could find in the St Marys defence. Caulfield were able to hit the scoreboard and took a handy lead into the main break. In the third quarter Caulfield had control for the majority of the term, the scoreboard didn’t reflect this though as they missed opportunities and only scored points. They continued to work hard in defence and kept St Marys away from goals again. In the last quarter Caulfield were not letting up, they put the pressure up a notch in attack and added three goals to their tally and came away with a strong win. It was an impressive defensive display from Caulfield who only gave away one goal from a penalty. The important win also put Caulfield back in third spot on the ladder.

With third spot on the line Melbourne Uni had to give their all when they came up against top of the ladder St Kevin’s on Sunday. The intensity was high from the first bounce with Melbourne Uni tackling hard and putting pressure on St Kevin’s. This would be one of the rare times this season that St Kevin’s didn’t have full control of the game. To really get themselves some momentum it was Melbourne Uni who would score the only goal of the first quarter. Melbourne Uni didn’t back down with the pressure in the second term continuing on where they left off with the tackles and effort from the first term. St Kevin’s were trying to push through the gaps and eventually they found it and were able to kick the equaliser. Both teams began to tire heading into halftime with shorts kicks and intercept marks keeping either side from getting on the scoreboard again before the break. St Kevin’s had most of the play early in the third but some desperate acts in the backline for Melbourne Uni kept St Kevin’s away from the goals. Again, Melbourne Uni were able to link up and go end to end for a goal. This would give them a three-point lead heading into the final term, setting up for a thrilling finish. It would only be a few minutes and St Kevin’s got a much-needed goal to swing the momentum back in their favour early. Melbourne Uni weren’t giving up and continued to dig deep, saving a certain goal mid-way through the term. St Kevin’s weren’t done though and found some space after a mistake from the Melbourne Uni backline to get another goal and be in the position to get the win. Another goal for St Kevin’s came in quick succession which was all they needed to secure their victory. Melbourne Uni continued to fight until the end but St Kevin’s gave them no room to get near goals.