By Tash Gunawardana
The EFNL Women’s season continues to gain momentum as we turn the corner into the middle of May, with a number of juicy match ups taking place this weekend.
Premier Division:
Chirnside Park Black: In round three, Chirnside Park Black was toppled for the first time this season by two points to Blackburn Red in a thrilling top level clash.
Inside Word: “We entered the weekend knowing that it would be a challenging game against Blackburn and our expectations were indeed met,” Captain Carly Robson said. “(We got) off to a slow start with Blackburn kicking three quick goals however we took it head on and were a point ahead at half time. The game continued to be a tight race ending in a disappointing two-point loss.”
“This week the girls are determined to get back on the winners board against South Croydon.”
Donvale Black: Donvale were beaten last weekend by the freight train in South Croydon Blue by 79-points.
Blackburn Black: What a game it was from Blackburn Black to become the only undefeated side this season with their narrow two-point win over reigning premiers Chirnside Park Black and the Panthers cannot wait for their match against Whitehorse.
Inside Word: “We had some tussles against Whitehorse in 2019, sitting at one all,” Blackburn Senior women’s coach Leann Gill said. “They were 2019 grand finalist, and you don’t get there unless you are good team. The standard of football in Premier Division is of a very high standard and we expect it to be the same on Saturday.”
South Croydon Blue: In round three, South Croydon Blue entered the round winless, but they finished the round with supreme confidence after they obliterated Donvale Black by 79-points. Now this round one of the biggest challenges this season awaits when they play Chirnside Park Black – who are coming off their first loss in quite some time.
Inside Word: “Round four brings a huge twilight clash at home against the reigning premier Chirnside Park,” coach Simon Hammersley said. “We’ve been around the mark in every game this year, so are looking forward to another challenge. Hopefully with the support of a big home crowd we can challenge Chirnside in another cracking game.”
Vermont: Vermont were in cruise control at Springfield Park on Saturday over Whitehorse, and they will head into their round four clash with Donvale with loads of confidence.
Inside Word: “We’re still working on different parks of our game so Donvale will be another big test for us this week,” coach Tim Da Silveria said. “They’ll be keen to get back onto the winners list whilst our girls have been working hard and really want to make a mark on this competition.”
Whitehorse Suns: The opening rounds have been a disaster for the Grand Finalists of 2019, they currently sit last on the ladder with a poor percentage of 23.31 and it doesn’t get any easier for them as they come up against ladder leaders Blackburn Black. On paper, it looks like this would be a walk in the park for Blackburn Black, but then again that’s on paper so could Whitehorse bring up their first win of 2021 with a massive upset?
Division One:
Berwick: For the first time this season, Berwick were defeated, losing to Park Orchards and they will hope they can bounce back against the sixth placed North Ringwood when they return home this Saturday. Berwick will head into the match as favourites but expect North Ringwood to fight on their way to a possible second victory.
SBL Wolves: SBL Wolves were taught a lesson in round three by The Basin and they will hope they will be able to get back on the board with a win and not succumb to a second consecutive loss.
North Ringwood: Expect North Ringwood to come out firing after coming off the bye when they face Berwick. Having a week’s rest might work in North Ringwood’s favour and who knows on Saturday morning at Edwin Flack Reserve they might be able to overcome Berwick.
Park Orchards: It was an impressive performance from Park Orchards in round three, as they did something no other side has done this season and defeat Berwick.
The Basin: Last round, The Basin put on a show getting home by 45-points over SBL Wolves. The Basin will clash with Boronia Brown in round four, expect the contest to be tight with both teams vying for their third win of the season.
Inside Word: “All our girls are pumped to be playing under lights against Boronia next weekend at Tormore Reserve,” Women’s team co-captain Julia said. “We are yet to play each other so no doubt both teams will be spending the week reviewing stats from other games and training hard to put on a great display in front of what will be a huge crowd.”
Boronia Brown: Boronia Brown learnt a lesson in round three with them running out of steam, as Rowville came back strongly in the final term and almost snatched victory.
Inside Word: “Excited to take on The Basin,” senior coach Scott Nicholas explained. “They made the Grand Final in Division One in 2019 and are going to the benchmark team this season. It will be a great test for our team with new players still learning the game!”
East Ringwood: East Ringwood suffered another hefty loss in round three and this time it was against Ferntree Gully. In round four, East Ringwood will come up against fellow struggler Rowville. Expect both teams to give it their all with a first win of the season up for grabs.
Rowville: It is hard to believe that reigning premier Rowville are yet to register a win this season. Their best chance to notch up their first victory is this round when they play fellow winless side East Ringwood.
Ferntree Gully: After a confidence boosting win in round three, Ferntree Gully will be looking for more of the same when they host Park Orchards at Wally Tew Reserve on Saturday morning.
Inside Word: “Park Orchards this week, they’re coming of an impressive win so know we’ll need to be at our best to get the points,” coach Tim Cavanagh stated. “Our captain Abbey Broughan is out this week (after kicking five goals) so we’re excited for Erin Naylor to take the captaincy duties for the day.”
SBL Wolves: Bye
Division Two:
Montrose: It took to round three, but Montrose are on the board in 2021 and the win was attributed to them playing an impressive four quarters. Montrose’s next opponent is the third placed Surrey Park and with a third place spot up for grabs or even better if Kilsyth lose in their match, second spot, expect this match be a hot contest all afternoon.
Ringwood: Wow, what a start to the season it has been for Ringwood winning their opening three matches, averaging 66 points a game and when they win, they win big averaging 50-points. Ringwood will play away this round against Knox.
Inside Word: “Saturday was a really tough physical game,” Women’s Football Coordinator Zoe Price said. “Kilsyth came out firing, but we held the lead throughout the game which came down to our level head and positive attitude! The girls are showing huge improvements and really gelling as a unit. This week we come up against Knox at Knox and we have a few injuries and girls out so should be interesting.”
Heathmont: Heathmont sit in fifth spot on the ladder with one win and went down last round by 24-points to Montrose. In round four, they are sure to be challenged when they face the second placed Kilsyth. If Heathmont are to cause a huge upset over Kilsyth, they will need to play their best four quarters of football.
Knox: Knox are currently in last spot and have not had a good start to their 2021 campaign, looks like their disappointing season might continue coming up against ladder leaders Ringwood.
Surrey Park: Surrey Park are lucky to be sitting in third place with only one win to their name. They lead three other teams that have also recorded one victory this season. If Surrey Park want to go outright third place, then they will need to topple Montrose on Saturday afternoon.
Kilsyth: It was a tough afternoon for Kilsyth, they were brought back down to earth by current ladder leaders Ringwood and they will look to bounce back in fine fashion this round against the second last Heathmont.
Inside Word: “We travel to Heathmont this week to play under lights,” coach Clint Martin. “After coming off a loss the girls are keen to bounce back. We’ve still got a lot of work to do on our game. The girls are starting to consolidate their positions so that is assisting the way we go about our game.”
Division Three:
Boronia Gold: Boronia Gold are still without a win in 2021 and their season is set to become even harder this week when they come up against Chirnside Park Gold, a side that narrowly lost in round three and will be looking to get back on the winners list with a huge victory.
Inside Word: “Welcoming a number of players back from injury this week and a few debutants as well,” Scott Nicholas continued. “This should create some excitement amongst the group to kick off a big day at Tormore with five big games back-to-back!”
South Croydon Red: In round three, South Croydon Red went on a scoring frenzy with 23 goals. If it was not for their inaccuracy of 20 behinds, they could have reached 200 points. South Croydon Red have shown so far this season that they are the team to beat this season in Division Three based on the way they have won and that they remain undefeated.
Inside Word: “This week we look towards Donvale, who we know will bring some electric pace and handball skills to the game, we will need to bring our best to stop that,” coach Declan Bourke said. “It’s a challenge we are looking forward to.”
FairPark: FairPark were kept scoreless in their round three encounter with Coldstream, so they will hope they will be able to trouble the scorers in round four against ladder leaders Blackburn Red.
Croydon North MLOC: A huge win for Croydon North MLOC in round three over Donvale Green and they will be hoping this continues against their round four opposition Coldstream.
Coldstream: What a defensive effort it was from Coldstream in round three to keep FairPark scoreless. It was a match where defence dominated and Coldstream were able to register enough points to get over the line. Coldstream will hope they can score more than two points when they clash with high scoring team Croydon North MLOC on Saturday morning.
Inside Word: “Don’t know anything about Croydon North MLOC,” coach Glenn Murray said. “Looking forward to seeing our team improve every week.”
Blackburn Red: Blackburn Red prevailed over Chirnside Park Gold by seven points in the top of the table clash and they will hope they can extend their undefeated streak this week when they play FairPark.
Inside Word: Blackburn are looking forward to hosting Fairpark this weekend. Their 3 games to date in 2021 have been super competitive with final scores being close on all three occasions. This Saturday versus Fairpark looks like being another great game of footy with both teams well placed.
Donvale Green: Donvale Green were battered in round three by an uncompromising outfit in Croydon North MLOC, but it will not get any easier for Donvale on Saturday with them facing competition heavyweights South Croydon Red.
Chirnside Park Gold: Chirnside Park Gold fought to the end in round three over Blackburn Red, but they met their match going down by seven points. It was Chirnside’s first defeat of the season and in round four one would think that Chirnside will be determined to not make it their second loss in a row against Boronia Gold.
Inside Word: “The reserve girls although exhausted from the midday heat kept fighting their way against Blackburn until the final siren,” Carly Robson continued. “Blackburn made an impact early in the game and the reserves girls took this challenge head on attacking the ball and not making it easy for the opposition. After a first tough loss for the season the girls are keen to get back on the track and train hard to face Boronia this weekend to hopefully get the four points.”