Taking it in after the siren: FINALS.
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Sorry, forgot to mention this was Lauren Caruso’s 25th VFLW game (all with us).
She, Simone Nalder, and Alex Morcom are the only players today that featured in our first game in 2018.
Others who have gone through the full story of 2018 wooden-spooners to 2021 finalists are: Kendra Heil (that first game is the only one she did not play), Courtney Ugle, and Nattie MacDonald.
Not playing today but survivors: Lori Stepnell, Monique DeMatteo, and Eleanor Cornish.
EDIT: and Alex Quigley!!!
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Is Quigs still on our list?
Nothing to suggest she isn’t. Not all of them want to/can attend games they’re not playing in (and at the other end you have the likes of Eleanor Cornish – 3, 5, and likely 2 annual games – who represent).
Ha, someone took pity and didn’t include “Goal Kickers: “ for Darebin.
Darebin
Best Players:K. Roe, S. Cubasch, K. Hazlett, S. David, S. Padovano, E. Buckley
Essendon
Goal Kickers:J. Davies 3, M. Clifford, G. Nanscawen, T. Crook, S. Nalder
Best Players:A. Barba, E. Yassir, T. Gillard, G. Prespakis, S. Nalder, C. Ugle
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Ha. In the last three quarters today, Darebin scored twice as much as a fully operational* Geelong AFLW team.
*may or may not be true.
“Captain Georgia Nanscawen hit the board for her first goal as a Bomber” – how did I miss that?!?
By Celie Hay
The VFLW Bombers have secured fifth place and a maiden finals berth with a commanding 51-point win over Darebin Falcons at Bill Lawry Oval on Saturday.
A three-goal haul from Jessie Davies in slippery conditions helped seal the 7.10 (52) to 0.2 (2) win for the Bombers, setting up an elimination final against the fourth-placed Casey Demons next week.
A switch from defence to forward for Tamsin Crook proved successful, with the 18-year-old hitting the board in the opening minutes.
The Bombers’ young midfield was dominant early, with Alana Barba, Emilia Yassir and Georgie Prespakis fighting hard to clear the ball into space and set up their forwards.
Captain Georgia Nanscawen hit the board for her first goal as a Bomber before Jessie Davies further extended the lead with an on-the-run snap.
The Falcons’ intensity lifted after the first break, but the Bombers responded with a goal from Mia-Rae Clifford.
Calder Cannons debutant Tahlia Gillard adjusted quickly to the stronger bodies and performed well through the ruck while also flying high to crash packs across the forward line.
Davies put her body on the line to score her second goal and give the Bombers a 31-point lead at half-time.
After the main break, both teams came out firing but the Bombers’ authority over the game continued with Davies hitting the board for her third major.
Courtney Ugle was impressive through the midfield while Simone Nalder worked hard through the ruck to overcome Darebin’s height.
Despite a goalless final term from both sides, there was elation on the siren, with Essendon securing the 51-point win and a spot in the VFLW top six for the first time in its history.
All smiles at the final siren. (Photo: Celie Hay)
Finals bound
After three seasons in the VFLW, Essendon has broken through for a maiden finals appearance after achieving their seventh win for the season against the Falcons.
Nanscawen said she was extremely excited for what was to come, admitting the players didn’t let themselves think too far ahead until finals were made official with today’s win.
“It’s incredibly exciting. Obviously there’s been a bit of a build-up and we’ve been pretty keen to keep focused, as cliché as it sounds. We have been focusing on one week at a time and not getting too far ahead of ourselves,” Nanscawen said.
“But to be able to say now that we are playing in our first final series, it’s super exciting and I think from this point we can just enjoy it and make the most of the opportunity.”
The victorious VFLW Bombers leave the field after securing a maiden finals berth. (Photo: AFL Photos)
As the team’s focus turns to its elimination final against fourth-placed Casey Demons, Nanscawen said the recent lockdown had given her team a chance to refresh and review its focus heading into finals.
“I think it’s just not trying to change anything or do anything different just because it’s finals. We still have to prepare well and we still have to recover well, but we will review today’s game and look at who we are playing next week,” she said.
“The last couple of weeks, coming back from lockdown, the vibe at training has been really good and people are appreciating football and the opportunity to play so we will give it a red-hot crack.”
Youth steps up
The Bombers blooded another debutant from the Calder Cannons in Gillard, who came into the side alongside fellow Cannons player Prespakis.
The pair were just several NAB League players who stepped up to VFLW level across the season, with Nanscawen impressed with how composed they were at the next level.
“They’ve slotted into our team brilliantly. We had ‘Tahls’ (Tahlia Gillard) today, a nice bit of height for our team. We also had Prespakis come back as well. ‘Millzy’ (Emilia Yassir) has slotted in really well,” she said.
“It’s exciting to have them and they are bringing that energy and enthusiasm to the group, which is great.”
A proud captain Georgia Nanscawen at the final siren. (Photo: Celie Hay)
Clean in the wet
Essendon adjusted well to the slippery and muddy conditions to clear the ball out of stoppages and move it quickly towards goal.
Nanscawen was impressed with her side’s ability to overcome the difficult conditions while still sticking to its style of play.
“I think we knew that it was going to be a pretty contested game and we wanted to make sure we played more to our free-flowing style, which I think we did given the conditions,” she said.
“It was quite tough out there. We actually handled it pretty well and played on our terms which is exactly what we wanted to do.”
The VFLW Bombers will face Casey Demons next weekend in an elimination final, with the fixture yet to be released.
DAREBIN 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.2 (2)
ESSENDON 3.3 5.3 7.9 7.10 (52)
Goals: Davies 3, Crook, Nanscawen, Clifford, Nalder
Best: Barba, Yassir, Gillard, Prespakis, Nalder, Ugle
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39 photos on the AFL website at the link below (I’ll extract some of the better ones):
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Ugle in the midst of the action:
Svarc in the mud: not our preferred option!
More Georgia’s area… though these two photos do not demonstrate that!
When out of the middle mud she could fly!
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The top of the post swung about 2 metres back and then 2m forward on the rebound.
Crook was impressed.
Ha. Searching for info, see she kicked 75 goals as a 16yo in the EDFL girls league. Second place player had 28!
That included a three-week period where she kicked 11, 13 and 15 for Sunbury.
In April to early May of this year, she played four games for Greenvale in the EDFL.
While doing that I saw Terira Fry, also on our list, has bounced between Sunbury’s Division 1 and 2 teams; the latter likely too easy, as it includes a bag of 9 goals. She only got a few games in 2019, but did some good things.
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Port might get rolled by the Hawks. Trail 38-46 around 3/4 time. Port just need a draw to finish top two.
Saints lead 21-9 midway through the second quarter. Saints need to win to displace Footscray from sixth.
North kick the last two goals, including one deep in RED TIME.
22-21 the Saints lead.
Port in doo doo. Trail 44-52 with minutes left.
Speaking of doo doo [that was not a setup!], this is Sandy at half-time…
Phew, owner was paying attention!
