Beaumaris break the hearts of Old Haileybury

Lauren Atkinson

The weekend kicked off with Old Brighton venturing out to Xavier College where they faced off with Old Xaverians. Old Brighton flexed their muscles with a four-quarter performance, winning each individual quarter, and defeating Old Xaverians by a final margin of 45 points.

Isabella Aikman kicked two of Old Xaverians’ three goals, while Tahryn Mant continued her excellent season of form by being named best for her side.

It was hard to pick a best for Old Brighton with so many players contributing to the win, but the coach could not look beyond India Tait, who has been named in the bests a whopping 13 times this season. Cat O’Brien (2 goals) and Daisy Flockart (3 goals) also backed up their remarkable Round 13 performances, featuring in the top three Tonners players again.

Old Brighton will look to continue their winning ways next week when they travel to Castlefield Reserve to take on Hampton Rovers, while Old Xaverians will face another tough opponent in Marcellin OC.

Old Geelong have dropped out of the top four, after falling short of Old Melburnians by 10 points. While the Old Geelong backline was strong, keeping Old Melburnians scoreless for two of the quarters, the forwards struggled to make a dint on the scoreboard, only kicking two goals for the day.

Sophie Fraser was reliable in front of goals, slotting two majors for the Omelettes, while Sally Peers was their best in her milestone 50^th game. Sophie Joubert and Sophie Batten were best for the Ogettes.

Old Geelong will go to battle with Beaumaris next week in a desperate bid to reclaim their spot in the top four. Meanwhile, Old Melburnians will travel to Old Haileybury for what will be another test for the Omelettes.

Hawthorn AFC came painfully close to causing an upset against Hampton Rovers, in what would have been their first win since Round 1.

The Hawks came out firing in the first quarter, kicking three goals while only letting one through. The Rovers responded in the second and went into the main break trailing by a single point. Hawthorn was again dominant in the third, but not as efficient as they would have hoped, meaning they held a narrow 7-point lead going into the final break.

The Rovers’ coach must have given one of the most inspirational 3 quarter-time speeches of the season because the visiting side appeared to finally switch on in the final term, kicking four straight goals while holding the Hawks scoreless, to break the home side’s hearts by a final margin of 17 points.

Emogen Johnson and Joelly Firmin did all that they could to try to get the Hawks over the line, ending the game with a goal apiece, while Alana Sarec also had a strong performance, contributing three goals. For Hampton Rovers, Kera Galaminda Gellar was named best.

Next week, Hawthorn AFC host Old Camberwell Grammarians, where they will look to make amends for the 74-point loss they sustained when the two sides met back in Round 5. Hampton Rovers will come up against a challenging opponent in second-place Old Brighton.

Marcellin OC have worked their way into the top four with a 25-point win over Old Camberwell Grammarians.

Marcellin were superior throughout the game, leading at every break by 9 points, 17 points and 27 points respectively. Old Camberwell Grammarians managed to reduce the margin by 2 points in the final term but were clearly no match for the mighty Sheagles on the day.

In the best for Old Camberwell were Alexandra Herrington, Olivia Honore and Emma Hooper. Marcellin’s best players weren’t available at the time of writing.

Marcellin look likely to maintain their spot in the top four next week when they host Old Xaverians, while Old Camberwell have a good chance of getting back on the winner’s list when they oppose bottom-placed Hawthorn AFC.

The final match of the round saw Old Haileybury travel to Banksia Reserve to take on Beaumaris in a twilight thriller.

The first quarter saw both sides apply elite pressure, with neither side managing to convert a major. Old Haileybury played an exceptional second quarter, allowing them to go into the half time break with a 10-point lead, however, it was another case of the premiership third quarter, in which Beaumaris kicked two unanswered goals to take a 3-point lead into the final term. The Hearts battled hard in the fourth, but the Sharks were able to hold on, surviving the scare by two points.

The loss will have been extra devastating for Old Haileybury as it renders their finals pursuit near impossible, with only two matches remaining of the home and away season. However, the Old Haileybury women should be heartened by the fact that they came closer to defeating Beaumaris than any other club so far this season.

Simone Marinelli showed off her flair in front of goals once again, kicking three goals for Beaumaris, to increase her lead at the top of the goal kicking table. At the time of writing, neither team’s best players were available.

Beaumaris will be keen to keep their undefeated streak going when they host Old Geelong next Saturday, while Old Haileybury will look to upset Old Melburnians.