Fitzroy roar past the Bullants in thrilling ANZAC round clash

The ANZAC marquee round in Division 4 kicked off with a highly skilled arm-wrestle between Preston Bullants and Fitzroy. As both teams sought to make amends for their Round 2 losses, an accurate Fitzroy put the sword to Preston leading 12-7 at the first interval.

Returning to the field for the first time since an ACL, Preston captain Lily Saunders swung momentum back the Bullants way booting her second major for the morning. Saunders’ efforts accompanied by goals from Becker-Scott, Mellington and Thompson ensured the Bullants held an 8-point lead at the half.

Fitzroy’s Jessica Calvert was the fire-starter in the third term, kicking two consecutive goals to initiate another lead change in favour of the Lions.

Preston Bullants’ coach Trevor Robinson commended the second-half performance of his side to keep the pressure on Fitzroy despite having one on the bench for the majority of the final term. Robinson made sure to highlight Shannon Gore who notched up her 100^th career goal for the Bullants, a true testament to her efforts week-in-week out at Preston.

Despite Fitzroy winning the final term by a point, the damage had largely been done as Fitzroy triumphed by 11 points at W.R. Ruthven Reserve (45-56).

With this result, both sides square on 4 points remain in touching distance of the top 4. As we cast our eye toward next week, winners Fitzroy take on 2^nd place Port Melbourne Chargers as Preston Bullants will look to return to the winners list against St Kevin’s.

Unfortunately for the fourth week in a row, Old Xaverians were forced to forfeit against Westbourne Grammarians handing the 4 points to Westbourne. Westbourne, sitting third, boast an impressive percentage of 640, which will be vital to maintain in this long and competitive season.

As for next week, Westbourne will host Port Melbourne Chargers in a mouth-watering clash between 2^nd and 3^rd place. The fans are sure to expect a high scoring and skilled contest. Old Xavs have a great opportunity next week against the West Brunswick Magpies at Stradbroke Park.

Despite misfiring in the first term by delivering 5 behinds without a goal, West Brunswick capitalised on their possession dominance in the next three quarters to win by 22 points over St Kevin’s.

The first major of the day was booted by West Brunswick’s Emma Mannix, with Bethany Koff quickly following suit with a major of her own to create a 16-point buffer on St Kevin’s at the main change. A score-less third quarter was a testament to the backlines of both sides, offering hope for St Kevin’s to translate a strong defence into some forward movement. The final term was underpinned by a goal to Han DeBuhr to extend the lead to 22 points at the final siren.

Despite the loss, Lewis, Rolleston, Cook, Holden and Winayakan were among St Kevin’s best withstanding the constant pressure applied by the Magpies all day. St Kevin’s with a win under their belt in round 1 will want to taste that winning feeling again against the high-flying Preston next week, as the Magpies will face Old Xavs at Stradbroke Park.

The afternoon timeslot was marked by the Monash Blues contest with 2^nd place Port Melbourne Chargers. With expectations high on Port Melbourne to come out of the rooms swinging, the first quarter was relatively subdued with a singular point scored by Monash to show for at the quarter time break.

This unexpected start kicked Port Melbourne into gear, dominating the scoreboard with a 2.5 goal quarter to a scoreless Monash second term. This scoreboard dominance was also reflected in the third term, with another 2 goals added to the Port Melbourne goal tally.

Crucial to the Chargers’ scoreboard ticking over was Maloney, Tarascio, Zhou, Ryan and Pritchard. Inaccuracy cost the Chargers a big win and a much-needed percentage boost for much of the afternoon. Monash ended their day with a major courtesy of Elyse Gordon, cutting the margin back to four goals when the siren blew.

This wave of momentum will hold the Chargers in good stead as they prepare to take on Fitzroy next Saturday. For Monash, they will face table-topping Beaumaris next week looking to claim their elusive victory.

To close out Round 3’s fixtures, Beaumaris were flawless in a 123-point shellacking of Oakleigh, solidifying their position atop of the Division 4 ladder. A five goal to zero opening term set the tone for a big day for Beaumaris. Maya Buhl (4 goals), Georgia Tysoe (3 goals), Lara Barker (2 goals) and Pippi Barrow (2) were the headline acts in the Beaumaris forward line, continuing to pile on the pain for Oakleigh’s backs.

While the forward’s filled their boots, Beaumaris’ defenders stayed resolute denying any Oakleigh scoring opportunities. Despite the constant pressure on the Oakleigh back 6, Oakleigh secretary Craig Robinson praised their efforts, citing they “defended hard all day against a more experienced side.”

Undoubtedly, Oakleigh will regroup and take plenty of learnings from Saturday’s result. The winning formula is no question thriving at Beaumaris in season 2025.

Some interesting matchups await us in Round 4 as Port Melbourne and Fitzroy will do battle at JL Murphy Reserve in the match of the round.