Ogettes step up to the top flight after history-making flag

“We’ve got the chance for our program to take the next step and they’re ready for it. We’re now playing in the best local women’s competition in Australia. If we want to win it, we’ve got to become the best local footy team in the country. It’s a whole new challenge, but it’s where we should be.”

2024 was a season to remember for Old Geelong, with their men’s team stepping up to play a Premier B Final before their women’s team went all the way to win their club’s first Senior women’s premiership (and first Premier B flag in either program) in the most thrilling of circumstances.

Having squandered the chance to do something special in 2023, women’s coach Jack Crameri and his team entered 2024 with a fire burning in their bellies.

“We blew our opportunity in ’23 due to our slow start,” Jack reflects.

“Then we went on a 7-game winning streak, only to miss the finals on percentage. We were hopeful of sneaking into fourth and we felt everyone above us was beatable. The girls knew deep down that we’d let that year slip.

“Our target had to be making the 2024 finals and so we got on the front foot early with player meetings and aggressive recruiting.

“Our last game of 2023 was against Old Xaverians and a bunch of our girls knew Sophia Rothfield. She was best afield for Xavs that day and they lost by 12 goals. A conversation sparked with her from there and she became one of our big recruits who would ultimately play a crucial role in how everything came together last year.

“A couple of girls went berserk on social media and by February we had 60 players on the track! We’d only had one women’s team, so no Reserves coach and it was just me coaching at that stage, which was a handful to begin with.

“We ended up having 75 players across our Seniors and Reserves, and with that sort of depth and the quality of talent we had, I knew we could be in the premiership mix pretty early on.”

Both OGs and Williamstown CYMS arrived at their top-of-the-table Round 5 showdown undefeated.

“We jumped them and kicked 3 goals in the first quarter,” said Jack.

“They overran us in the end (to win by 16 points) but I knew we had the necessary pieces. If everything went right, we’d be in the mix.”

Everything did go right for most of the home & away season as the Oggettes won 13 of their 16 matches to finish second, 3 games behind unbeaten minor premiers CYMS, who had completed a perfect 16-0 season with a percentage of 314.9%.

“That Second Semi Final against Willy was one of the bigger moments in our program’s history,” says Jack with a smile.

Crameri knew that his team had to overcome history as well their formidable opponent.

“To that point, our women’s senior team had been in finals but had never won one. Before the game, I built up every ‘first’ we’d already achieved in 2024. We’d never won 13 games in a season before, never had the league’s leading goalkicker (Matilda Arthur with 38). Our scoring, our percentage – all were new club records for our women’s program since it began in 2017.

“I reinforced to our girls that we were the best version of the OG’s Women’s team ever to this point. And I was ok with Willy being undefeated to that stage of the year – it meant that they had some pressure on them too.

“But we needed to get the finals monkey off our own back first. We had two chances to win a final and if we do, we’re into a Grand Final.”

Old Geelong held CYMS goalless in the opening half to lead by 18 points at the major break.

“I was really pleased with how the game was going. We’d put a lot of work into planning for CYMS and I knew that if we played the way we wanted to, did everything right on the day, we could work our way into a position to win that game. I reinforced the message to keep doing what we’re doing, because it’s working.”

A goal apiece in the third term maintained OG’s handy lead, then two goals apiece in the final term saw Old Geelong hand Willy their first loss of the season and progress straight through to the premiership decider.

“Post game was brilliant. We felt like we’d achieved something and it was particularly pleasing for the 3 or 4 girls that had been there since our first ever game in 2017. They’d never had the chance to experience that feeling of winning a final. And we certainly needed the two-week break because we were pretty sore after that Second Semi.”

Preliminary Final Day delivered an upset, with Willy CYMS bounced out in straight sets when Fitzroy came from behind at the last change to win a 2-point thriller.

“It was a day that provided the opportunity for an upset,” said Jack. “There was a strong breeze to one end and if you don’t take your chances with the wind on days like that, you’ll find yourself in a tough position.

“We’d beaten Fitzroy by 5 points and 1 point during the season. They have a strong backline – tough to score against – and a good midfield. We were expecting another tight battle.

“Our Thursday night training session before the Grand Final was great. We had parents and extended families come along to have dinner with the girls and boys in the rooms. We’d collected a video message from each player’s closest connection to footy, so we had messages from parents, siblings, friends, players and ex-players who were travelling overseas.

“There were a few surprises in there and then played some highlights to pump them all up.”

Grand Final Day rolled around and Jack sensed his players were ready.

“For most of them, it was the biggest game of their young lives, but pre-game we felt prepared and confident that we could get the job done if we played the way we wanted to. It was a fun morning, but it was blowing a gale to one end of Elsternwick Park. We’d prepared for that and were ready to adjust to the conditions and we had to kick into it in the first term.”

Despite being held to a single point into that wind in the opening term, it was calm in the OGs quarter-time huddle.

“I was really comfortable with our first quarter,” said Jack.

“It was 2 goals to none, but we’d had great opportunities to score into what was probably a 4-goal wind and Fitzroy didn’t kick their goals until quite late (the 14 and 23-minute marks), so we’d held them well. I just said, ‘Alright, now it’s our turn. Let’s change mode a bit here and get on the attack.”

OGs booted 4 unanswered goals with the breeze in the second term to lead by 2 straight kicks at the major break before being held scoreless into the wind in the third term as the Roygirls edged their way to a 3-point advantage at the last change.

But, once again, the OG’s huddle remained composed.

“Our vibe at three-quarter time was great. I said, ‘Alright, this is what we wanted. An opportunity to win it. Now we’ve got to go and do it. Go and attack. Take the game on. Let’s go win this.”

Old Geelong scored four behinds early in the final term to get their noses in front.

“We were up by a point for about 15 minutes,” Jack recalls. “But I was comfortable with that, given only 2 points had been scored into the wind all day. All the play was in our forward half and the girls did a great job setting up behind the footy to lock it in at our end. Kath Dunn and Abbey Latimer were brilliant.

“I was still comfortable with a one-point lead. It doesn’t matter how much you win by.”

But with about three minutes to play, Fitzroy had one last roll of the dice to steal the flag.

“They had a play up the ground and everything went their way. We gave a free kick away, and they ended up with a shot at goal from 25 out. At that point, I was no longer that comfortable!

“Fortunately for us, the shot went out on the full and we got a free kick from some by-play. The ball ended up back down our end pretty quickly.”

Cometh the moment, cometh the recruit the OGs had brought across to help take them to the next level in 2024. With a ball-up about 20 metres from goal, Sophia Rothfield set up on the defensive side of the stoppage to sweep through and hit the crumb at speed.

As the ball went into the air, Sophia fended her opponent to create a metre of separation, roved the crumb, broke three tackles and snapped an unforgettable goal from a tight angle, sending the Old Geelong faithful into raptures on the hill.

“It was one of the great Grand Final goals,” says Jack.

“She’s a game-winner. A difference maker. We’d told her to ‘Get to as many contests as you can and do your thing.’ She’d kicked 2 of those 4 points at the start of the quarter.

“There are some great photos of Sophia celebrating and a great photo of the entire bench, support staff and President erupting. The whole boundary exploded – we had so many supporters there. I’m pointing back at Sophia saying ‘We knew you could do this.’ It was a really awesome moment.”

The siren sounded shortly after, sealing a piece of history that will live forever on the Old Geelong honour boards – the OG’s first senior women’s and Premier B premierships.

“It had been a long time coming for a lot of these girls and for me. I’d never been part of a senior flag as a player or coach. I’ve been in a few losing ones – two as an Under 19’s player at Mazenod, one at Clayton, then one as a coach in London also.

“It was the best moment of my football life. I got to raise the cup with the captain. I’d been the captain at my previous clubs and always dreamt of that moment to lift it up and scream at the top of my lungs. It was awesome.”

“My two-year-old son Angus stood next to the dais and high-fived all the girls as they came past. He was born a week after I coached my first OG’s game so he’s been alive the whole time I’ve coached there and he’s grown up around it.

“It was a really enjoyable evening and we made the most of it. We watched the replay together the next day. There’s been some talk of tattoos, but there’s no ink on skin as yet. Maybe at some point – if we go back-to-back?

“The best thing about it is that I’ve never had the opportunity to go to premiership reunions with my former clubs and that was part of my three-quarter-time sell on Grand Final Day.

“We’ve been through this season together and maybe a couple besides that. You’ve seen my kid grow up. This is the opportunity. If we win this, we’ll have the opportunity to come back in 5 years, 10 years… every year if we want to. Reminisce, find out what everyone’s doing and stay involved in each other’s lives.

“That’s the thing I’m most excited about – we’re all now connected to the footy club forever. We’ve achieved something tangible and have a reason to get together in the future.”

Jack also appreciates the broader impact the premiership has had on Old Geelong.

“This flag solidifies what has been happening and what’s gone on there over 8 seasons. It gives our club the opportunity to be in Premier Women’s for the first time. Our boys aren’t far off that mark either.

“We’ve got the chance for our program to take the next step and they’re ready for it. We’re now playing in the best local women’s competition in Australia. If we want to win it, we’ve got to become the best local footy team in the country. It’s a whole new challenge, but it’s where we should be.”

Jack is looking forward to the 2025 campaign.

“We’re recruiting well, and there’s going to be some interesting developments with the new points system.

“We’ve had probably 20 new girls come to sessions over the summer. We’re starting to really connect well again with our feeder schools – we’ve got some girls from Grammar, which is really exciting. Where previously a VFLW-quality girl may have chosen SKOB or Scotch, now they don’t have to because we’re also playing at the highest level in Premier Women’s.

“We want an inclusive environment that allows a VFLW/AFLW girl to have a great time and play at a high level, all the way through to a first-timer from Ireland, Spain or Narre Warren who shows up on the doorstep. We want to provide opportunities for everyone.

“Our ex-captain Kath Dunn is having a year off and joining me as Assistant Coach. She’s certainly a loss on the field, but we retain her voice amongst the group, which is great.

“We’ve got Camilla Taylor back – she was overseas last year. She is a gun who can also go forward and straighten us up a bit. She’s a good in for us.

“While we don’t want to play our best footy in Round 1, we do expect to be competitive straight away. We’ll need to start quickly as we face Old Scotch (reigning premiers). It’s going to be a really big moment for our club to play against teams like that who are ingrained in Premier football.

“The biggest difference between Premier B and Premier Women’s is skills – hitting targets. Having watched Premier Women’s teams, the highly successful ones have elite users, so we’ve got to ensure we have as many as possible and develop as many as we can.

“We play 3 of last year’s Top 4 in the first 4 rounds, so we’ll know where we’re at early, which is exciting. We want to have that Craig McRae model when if you lose a game, you come to training and the mood hasn’t changed.

“We always want to focus on having a fun, inclusive environment because we will lose games. It’s a long season but that provides big chances to improve and develop throughout the year.

“We’ve got a new challenge ahead of us, playing at the highest standard. There’ll be changes within our squad – players who missed out last year, plus new faces coming in. Girls who played in the premiership may not play in Round 1. We’ll be deeper across our two sides and there will be competition for spots. That will create its own hunger.”