IN the final round of the Victorian Football League (VFL) Women’s competition, a number of NAB League graduates stood up and impressed be it via debut, or continuing their form from throughout the season. We recap how they performed.

Essendon had a plethora of Calder Cannons talents past and present, led by Georgie Prespakis who amassed a game-high 24 disposals, as well as nine tackles, seven clearances and three inside 50s. Current Cannons teammates Emelia Yassir (18 disposals, two marks, three tackles, two clearances and four inside 50s), Tahlia Gillard (nine disposals, 13 hitouts and six tackles) and Kasey Lennox all played in the game.

Ex-Cannons, Alana Barba (23 disposals, 11 tackles, six clearances and three inside 50s), Grace Dicker and Tamsin Crook. Former Murray talent Eloise Ashley-Cooper continued her form with 10 disposals four clearances and two inside 50s. For the Falcons, Trinity Mills had six touches and laid three tackles, whilst Northern Knights teammate Mikayla Plunkett also took to the field. Katelyn Hazlett amassed seven disposals, three clearances and five inside 50s in the loss, whilst the sole Cannon on the Darebin side in Peppa Poultney had four touches and three tackles.

In Collingwood’s top of the table win over Geelong, Eliza James put together another impressive performance with the Oakleigh Chargers talent picking up 13 disposals, five marks, three tackles, two clearances, three inside 50s and kicking her debut VFLW goal. Olivia Meagher also ran out again for the Magpies for seven disposals and two tackles. Current Greater Western Victoria (GWV) Rebels player Chloe Leonard managed the nine disposals six tackles and three inside 50s to be named among the Cats’ best, whilst ex-Falcons Paige Sheppard (15 disposals, six marks, seven tackles, three clearances and two rebound 50s) and Sachi DeGiacomi (two disposals, four tackles) both played, as did ex-Bushranger Tamara Smith (seven disposals, 11 tackles).

Western Bulldogs got the chocolates over the Casey Demons in their clash, with a trio of current GWV Rebels players running around. Nyakoat Dojiok (11 disposals), Tahlia Meier (11 disposals, three marks, four tackles and two inside 50s) and Lilli Condon (10 disposals, two tackles and three inside 50s) all impressed, with Western Jets talent Trinity Skenderis having the 10 disposals, four tackles and kicking a goal. Ex-Bendigo Pioneers skipper Brooke Hards had the seven touches, six tackles, two inside 50s and three rebounds in another strong performance in the back half. Meanwhile Gippsland Power ruck Grace Matser was a standout with 11 touches, 16 hitouts, seven tackles, four clearances and two rebound 50s for the Demons.

Hawthorn’s eight-point triumph over Port Melbourne saw a ton of Eastern Ranges end their VFL Women’s season. Isabelle Khoury was the standout, named best on ground for her nine disposals, seven tackles, six clearances, three inside 50s, two rebounds and one goal. Eloise Chaston (11 disposals, two marks and two inside 50s), Keeley Sherar (nine disposals, three tackles, three clearances and two inside 50s), Bridget Deed (eight disposals, three tackles and two rebound 50s), Cadhla Schmidli, Sarah Humm and Jess Grace all played. Former Ranges talent Jenna Richardson managed the 14 touches, four marks, three tackles, two clearances and four rebound 50s, while Gippsland Power’s Grace McRae had the 13 touches, six tackles and five clearances.

Port Melbourne had a few talented youngsters running around for the Borough, with Murray Bushrangers’ Aurora Smith making her debut for nine disposals, three tackles, two clearances and three inside 50s. Oakleigh Chargers duo Amanda Ling (11 disposals, three marks, 10 tackles and four inside 50s) and Brooke Vickers (15 disposals, two tackles and two rebound 50s) also stood out, whilst Dandenong Stingrays’ Jaide Anthony managed the five touches. Ex-Murray player Sophie Locke returned to good form with 13 touches, five tackles and two goals in the game.

Southern Saints had a trio of Dragons in their win over North Melbourne, as Charlotte Ryan made her debut at VFLW level for five disposals and a couple of tackles. Emma Stuber (10 disposals, two marks and four inside 50s) impressed in her second game alongside Pia Staltari. Dandenong Stingrays’ Jemma Radford managed the six touches and four tackles in another game with the Saints, as Abbey Jordan returned to put out nine touches in a solid effort. Former Eastern forward Gabi De Angelis produced her best game of the season with 24 touches, nine marks, three tackles, eight inside 50s and two goals to be the star. For the Roos, GIANTS Academy talent Jayde Hamilton had 10 disposals, five tackles and two clearances.

In the final game of the season, Carlton got up over Williamstown with a distinct Northern Knight flavour again. Maeve Chaplin was named in the bests for her seven disposals and three tackles, as Tarrah Delgado had five touches, four marks and five tackles in the win. Ex-Knight Marnie Jarvis had the four disposals and three tackles, while form Oakleigh defender Amber Micallef managed seven touches and two marks. Williamstown handed Dandenong’s Sarah Hosking a debut, with the top-age talent having six disposals and three tackles. Former Bendigo skipper Megan Williamson was busy with nine touches, 10 tackles and five clearances, whilst current Geelong Falcons forward Zoe Garth managed five touches and five tackles. Ex-Western Jets midfielder Ruby Tripodi was clearly the standout of the graduates with 23 touches, five tackles and five clearances in the loss.