Newcomers make their mark as 2024 powerhouses dominate early

The William Buck Premier Women’s competition started with a bang on Saturday, with a host of new storylines emerging from Round 1. The competition welcomed Premier B-elevated clubs Old Geelong, Williamstown CYMS and Fitzroy. Meanwhile, stalwarts of the William Buck Premier Women’s competition, St Kevin’s and Old Scotch, stamped their authority, with the premiers and runners-up from season 2024 putting together strong four-quarter performances in their first hit-out for 2025.

Last year’s Premier B Women’s victors Old Geelong began season 2025 with a hard-fought win over West Brunswick — a side that won ten games in Premier Women’s last season. The win marked Old Geelong’s first ever in the top tier in the club’s 71-year history in an accurate 4.1 (25) display to the Magpies’ 2.3 (15).

Head Coach Jack Crameri was pleased with the first-up performance and credited his side’s pressure for the 10-point win over the Magpies.

“The game was won on the pressure we were able to apply… that led to turnovers, which led to scores,” Crameri said.

The OG’s featured nine different players in Round 1 compared to their Grand Final side and will continue to build connection and cohesion as the season progresses. Crameri noted that this lack of familiarity showed inside 50 and highlighted it as an area of focus heading into Round 2. “The main area we’ll be focusing on is converting forward entries to scores — it’s simply a connection piece with so many new players in the line-up.”

On the other side, West Brunswick Head Coach Ryan Wardel praised his team’s effort while acknowledging areas for improvement. “It was a pretty even and tough contest, but what separated the game was the ability to connect from midfield to forward.”

Wardel also took heart from individual performances, including that of Victoria Holt, “I was very pleased with our ability to hold up defensively… Vic Holt was particularly strong in winning her one-on-ones and getting the ball out of dangerous space.”

Old Geelong will look to make it two from two when they face Kew in Round 2, while West Brunswick take on Old Yarra Cobras.

Fitzroy travelled to Victoria Park to face Kew in their Round 1 matchup. The newly elevated side had their work cut out for them coming up against the Kew Bears who have been competitive in A-grade for a number of seasons. Nathan Jumeau’s side were unable to match Kew’s fast start, trailing 33–2 at half-time and ultimately conceding 7.5 (47) to 4.2 (26) at the final siren.

Jumeau acknowledged the slow start but praised his team’s second-half response, “The game was lost in the first half — we took too long to adjust to the pace of Premier football… We were really pleased with the second half. We adjusted as a team with a few changes and were able to play our style of footy.”

Kew Coach Emily Avery was pleased with her team’s performance, referencing both list turnover and cultural priorities established over the off-season.

“This year we have a relatively new playing list, including four debutants… At the Bear Cave, our focus is on fostering team connections and playing enjoyable, dynamic footy.”

Avery also highlighted the efforts of Lauren Rinaldi, who stood tall in the ruck amid injury concerns in that area, “As our primary ruck, she played the majority of the game… Loz has worked incredibly hard during the pre-season, and it’s clear that effort is paying off in her performance.”

Reigning premiers Old Scotch picked up where they left off with a dominant Round 1 performance over newcomers Williamstown CYMS, runny away with an 87-point victory. The Cardinals are eyeing back-to-back flags, with Jordan Mifsud and Mia Cowan leading the way up forward with four and three goals respectively.

Round 1 served as a perfect tune-up for Dean Anderson’s side ahead of a Grand Final rematch against St Kevin’s at Camberwell Sportsground awaiting them this Saturday.

Williamstown Coach Xavier Smith remained level-headed after his side’s first match in the Premier division noting, “I’m happy to tick off Round 1. We know we have to continually improve… but we’re up for the challenge and know we’re headed in the right direction.”

The Loft Reserve outfit finished the 2024 season undefeated in the home-and-away season of Premier B before bowing out in straight sets come Finals. Smith believes the match against Old Scotch was a valuable learning opportunity. “Scotch are by far the standard setters in Premier, and that’s the level we want to get to. Overall, they were a lot more disciplined with their structures and dominated us at the contest.”

Caulfield Grammarians opened their 2025 campaign in style with a commanding 79-point win against the Old Yarra Cobras. Head Coach Danielle Distefano and her team will be looking to build upon a strong 2024 season, which included 11 home-and-away wins and a preliminary final appearance.

Nat Barbara led the way with four goals and was joined by six other individual goal-kickers in a strong team display. Not only did the Fields’ dominate up forward but they produced a comprehensive defensive effort, denying their opposition a single score.

Despite the one-sided result, the Cobras will aim to bounce back and build into their season. The Cobras can take encouragement from standout performances by Josephine Muscat and Belinda Wriedt.

A clear theme of Round 1 was the continued dominance of the 2024 elite. St Kevin’s delivered a commanding four-quarter performance against Melbourne University Women’s and will now gear up for a highly anticipated Grand Final rematch with Old Scotch in Round 2.

Hannah Smith and Kate Stanton starred for St Kevin’s, kicking nine and eight goals respectively in a clinical display. The SKOB Stars 20-goal, 17-point onslaught was no match for the Mugars in the first opportunity of the season to secure four points.

MUWFC will look to treat this performance as an outlier when they face Fitzroy next week. While the scoreboard wasn’t flattering, there were positives in the performances of Jolyn Collins and Lily Harris.

Melbourne Uni Women’s Coach Michael Goldsmith was upbeat about the performance and looked to the positives. “Despite the result, there were still positives to take away. Our group stuck together under real pressure, which says a lot about character,” he said. 

Goldsmith alluded to what the coaching department will be preaching heading into the opening weeks of the season. “We’ll be putting a lot of work into our contest craft, transition setups, and forward structure so we can generate more scoring opportunities and keep the game on our terms longer.”