By Jared Beanland.
Beaconsfield
Position: 6th
Wins/Losses: 2 / 5
Percentage: 77.04%
For (Rank): 36 average points per game (6th)
Against (Rank): 47 average points per game (6th)
Leading Goal kicker (Goals): Katie Angelis (11)
After making the finals in their first year in the league, Beaconsfield look to improve upon a season which saw them around the mark, yet not good enough to topple the best that division one had to offer.
With teams from Premier B division coming down, and the premiers of division two coming up, Beaconsfield has struggled to keep pace with the field.
The strategy of opting to focus on bringing up players from their junior programme, rather than looking externally for recruits has caused some growing pains for the team as they sit on only two wins for the year.
There is enough of a gap between themselves and the bottom two – Ringwood and Chirnside Park – to not be concerned about relegation, and they have been able to remain competitive amongst the rest on most occasions.
The one point loss to Park Orchards would sting, as that was an opportunity to take a real scalp, but that at lends credence to the idea that the Eagles may yet make a push towards finals.
Katie Angelis has impressed in her first season at the club, booting 11 goals in just five games, however it is becoming increasingly obvious that Beaconsfield are relying on her for their scoring power. The next player down on the list only has two goals for the season, that being Laruee Metcalf.
Beaconsfield will need to improve as the season goes on if they are to make finals, but have indeed shown signs against a couple of the top teams, particularly against Park Orchards. The Sharks happen to be their next opponents, so it’s a chance for the Eagles to take back the one game that got away.
Boronia Brown
Position: 3rd
Wins/Losses: 5 / 2
Percentage: 322.76%
For (Rank): 67 average points per game (3rd)
Against (Rank): 21 average points per game (2nd)
Leading Goal kicker (Goals): Rachel Slater (15)
Coming into division one after a year in Premier B division, Boronia have given themselves every chance to improve upon the four wins that they scored in 2022.
Due to the structure of the two Premier divisions last year, the Hawks were able to test themselves against the best women’s teams the league can offer, and that would have done wonders for the improvement of the team.
Not only that, but important recruits such as Holly Flanagan, and Matilda Birkett have bolstered an already talented side.
Boronia started off the season with five wins in a row, including a 98 point thrashing of Chirnside Park, and a game in which they held Ringwood scoreless for all four quarters.
The old rivals from Premier B, The Basin defeated them by ten points, and Park Orchards were the only other team to beat them. This all points to Boronia being finals bound.
Rachel Slater looks set to improve on her 17 goal haul of 2022, as she has already kicked 15 goals this year. Simone Stubley has also acquitted herself as a goal kicker this year, with a total of 10. Ali Gottliebsen, and Stephanie Phillips have both also been valuable players for the Hawks already.
Only two teams stand ahead of them. The Basin are a team which Boronia already knows well, and had defeated them three times last year.
While the loss against Park Orchards was not helped by the inaccurate kicking on the day, so the match up might end differently next time. Another indicator that Park Orchards may be vulnerable to Boronia, is the sheer difference in percentage between the two sides – Boronia are over 100 percentage points ahead of them on the ladder.
If these performances remain consistent, Boronia will be a strong chance at going deep into finals this year. They continue their campaign in round eight with another shot at their arch-rivals The Basin.
Chirnside Park
Position: 8th
Wins/Losses: 0 / 7
Percentage: 12.53%
For (Rank): 14 average points per game (8th)
Against (Rank): 108 average points per game (8th)
Leading Goal kicker (Goals): Jasmyn McSweeny, Jessica Provan (3)
Chirnside Park have so far been unable to improve upon their three wins from last year. Going into this year with low expectations yet high hopes, the Panthers would be looking at this season as a chance to improve on what they had already learned in division one last year, and a chance to take the small wins, no matter where they end up next year.
Sitting winless on the bottom of the ladder, and an uncommonly small average score of 14 points per game, the girls from Kimberley Drive Reserve would be disappointed with the statistic showing that they’ve only kicked 14 goals for the year in total.
The closest they came to a victory was in round one against Ringwood – a loss by only 8 points. Chirnside Park would be pencilling in the round 14 (the final round of the season) clash with them as their best chance of picking up a win from the season.
While the D’Arcy girls, Alice and Ruby have been leading from the front, those girls at Chirnside Park fortunate enough to score goals this year include Jasmyn McSweeny, and Jessica Provan, both with three each to their names.
If the Panthers are able to notch up a win against Ringwood in round 14, and stop the bleeding in the defensive end of the ground, that win plus percentage may see them survive in division 1.
Knox
Position: 4th
Wins/Losses: 4 / 3
Percentage: 100.00%
For (Rank): 37 average points per game (5th)
Against (Rank): 37 average points per game (4th)
Leading Goal kicker (Goals): Rebecca Lia (13)
Triumphant in their 2022 campaign, Knox have come raring to go in the upper echelons of women’s footy in the east. The Falcons suffered just the one loss last year, but other than that did not put a foot wrong.
New coach Callum Mactier will have wanted to improve upon the strengths that saw them defeat East Ringwood in the grand final.
Things haven’t gone totally to plan this year for Knox, however they are showing that they belong in this division. Their current place in the top four is threatened by North Ringwood, who have a higher percentage than Knox do. Yet in a round two arm wrestle, Knox were able to beat their closest rivals by two points.
Defeat would be an unfamiliar feeling coming into this year, yet Knox have suffered big losses at the hands of the former Premier B sides, The Basin, and Boronia. This has the potential to show what it takes to perform at the top levels in women’s competition, and may improve Knox in the long run.
Rebecca Lia has been a standout player of the season for Knox, booting 13 goals so far, an impressive tally given that it comes amongst a decent spread of scorers, showing that this is a well-balanced side. Holly Gibson and Taylor Prentice have both starred also, pushing this team towards a potential finals berth at the end of the season.
Knox’s spot in the four is delicate, and could be relinquished if their next game against North Ringwood goes the other way. A premiership looks unlikely also, the two former Premier B sides seem to be strides ahead of the Falcons. That being said, this is still an impressive first year in division one for Knox, a team that has shown they certainly belong here.
North Ringwood
Position: 5th
Wins/Losses: 3 / 4
Percentage: 134.89%
For (Rank): 54 average points per game (4th)
Against (Rank): 40 average points per game (5th)
Leading Goal kicker (Goals): Eliza Wilson (8)
The Saints come into this year with high hopes, having been third behind Park Orchards and Rowville in 2022. With Rowville being promoted into Premier division, North Ringwood have a chance to shoot for a deeper finals run this time around.
Like Beaconsfield however, the difficulty comes when considering the two Premier B sides come into this division with a lot of experience against top flight teams, pushing the competition down the ladder. Therefore North Ringwood currently sit in 5th spot. While other teams have struggled to match it with those two sides, North Ringwood have prevented their games against The Basin and Boronia from being blowouts. Only a 24 point loss to The Basin, and a 38 point loss to Boronia shows that North Ringwood aren’t as far off as their 5th spot might suggest.
The North Ringwood women’s under 18s side won a premiership last year, and many players who have starred for the Saints this year have come from that team. Rachel Iacuone, Sarah Humm, and Ella Rhodes have made an immediate impact, and are great examples of the health of the club’s junior programme. Captain Tayla Deane continues to lead by example, and Eliza Wilson has been their main scoring force with eight goals from her six games.
North Ringwood has a chance to push into finals in the second half of the year, and if that happens they could cause chaos to those power teams at the top of the ladder. The round ten clash against Knox is the game to keep an eye on, because if North Ringwood lose that, they’ll have to do it the hard way and pinch a win against either Boronia, The Basin, or Park Orchards, teams they are yet to win against.
Park Orchards
Position: 2nd
Wins/Losses: 6 / 1
Percentage: 219.07%
For (Rank): 67 average points per game (2nd)
Against (Rank): 31 average points per game (3rd)
Leading Goal kicker (Goals): Alannah Boell (11)
A stinging defeat in the Grand Final last year to Rowville by just three points – after having already beaten them in a final earlier in the month – would be enough impetus for the Sharks to improve coming into the 2023 season.
Having the two Premier B sides come into the division has not been as difficult for Park Orchards as it has for most other teams. Their round seven defeat of Boronia attests to that. While they did lose to The Basin by 52 points, the Sharks would be keen to take on the Bears again later in the year.
Being one of the best sides in the division last year means that they have already beaten most of the teams they’re playing against multiple times, so it stands to reason that they wouldn’t be intimidated by the prospect of playing finals once again, and especially not the second half of the year.
In the frequent absence of a couple of their best players, Jorja Livingston and Jade Hutchinson – both due to VFLW duties, plenty of players have stepped up to the plate for Park Orchards. Issy Pollock, Kristen Bertoldi, and Alannah Boell just to name a few, the latter being the leading goal scorer with a total off 11 for the year, set to once again be their leading goal kicker for the entire year.
Park Orchards look to go one better at the end of the season, and are set on a path to get there. The defeat of Boronia will strengthen their resolve, and most likely make The Basin look a little less intimidating ahead of their round twelve clash against them. From there, the Sharks’ fate is in their own hands, as another deep finals run looks imminent.
Ringwood
Position: 7th
Wins/Losses: 1 / 6
Percentage: 24.23%
For (Rank): 20 average points per game (7th)
Against (Rank): 83 average points per game (7th)
Leading Goal kicker (Goals): Olivia Marsham (6)
Like Chirnside Park, Ringwood have struggled this year, and have looked unlikely to defeat any team other than the eighth placed Panthers. Outside of that game, their best performance was against Beaconsfield, which was still a 41 point defeat.
The loss of Georgia Fairbairn is hurting Ringwood, as she was a major goal scorer for them last year, with a whopping 32 goals from 11 games. Her absence has left a massive gap in the Redbacks’ forward line, which looks unlikely to be filled any time soon.
They will need to do that, if they are to improve upon the four wins they racked up last year. Zoe Cant is also an absence that has been felt – the joint Best and Fairest winner of the division in 2022 has only played 3 games for Ringwood this year.
The most likely goal kicker for the Redbacks so far has been Olivia Marsham with six goals from her five games, a respectable return. Players such as Tiana Johnson and Jacinta Collier have also stepped up this year.
Once again, it’s the small wins that will define Ringwood’s season in 2022. Beating Chirnside Park in round one would definitely have been a positive start to the year, and the Redbacks would be hoping to finish the year off in the same fashion, as they play Chirnside Park again in round 14.
The Basin Red
Position: 1st
Wins/Losses: 7 / 0
Percentage: 763.16%
For (Rank): 83 average points per game (1st)
Against (Rank): 11 average points per game (1st)
Leading Goal kicker (Goals): Danielle Brotto (32)
The Basin have taken all before them so far in season 2023. Last season they were in Premier B division, and ended up winning a final against Boronia, and losing one against Whitehorse. Hopes were high coming into this year with a good pack of strong recruits set to bolster an already strong line-up.
Former Port Melbourne VFLW player Bridie Winbanks has come in and made an immediate impression, as has Brianna Donnelly. The scoring power has come from another recruit, however, the former Rowville player Danielle Brotto. She led the goal kicking tally in the division last year, and does so again. Remarkably she already has 32 goals for the season, only one goal away from her total last year, yet with a whole half a season to go. The Basin’s 2022 leading goal kicker, Julia Baker has been her tag team partner in the forward line, kicking 16 goals herself. Other stars from that season for the Bears have continued to step up, such as Zoe Alston, and Jaimee Monk, consistent stars the both of them.
So far in 2023 there has been only one team to give the Bears any trouble. Fellow former Premier B side, and The Basin’s arch-rivals Boronia came within 10 points of them in round six. North Ringwood also had a fair plug against them in round one, being the only team to score over three goals against them, totalling five for that game. In the five games they’ve played not against these two teams The Basin have only conceded three goals in total, a stat which illustrates their total dominance over most of these teams.
It will take a mammoth effort by anyone in this division to unseat this powerhouse, as finals seem inevitable, and a premiership is up for the taking.
