NORTH Shore Bombers survived an almighty scare from Pennant Hills Demons to get up by three points in the AFL Sydney Women’s Premier Division clash. The Bombers were held goalless in the opening half, but kicked three of the last four goals to secure the 3.6 (24) to 3.3 (21) win, despite some nervous moments late.

As expected, every possession in the match was contested and pressurised in the big mid-table battle between the Bombers and Demons. The first quarter was a very even contest. North Shore was caught off guard by an almost fully stocked Pennant Hills team, with Eleanor Rugg and Natalie Pajor being late ins.

Rebecca Ives winning the ball in the centre to distribute to Brianna Wade or Laura Donohue was the key for the Demons as they moved it well down the field. The first goal finally came when Donohue took a very nice mark, just outside 50 and was gifted a very silly 50m penalty for a player encroaching on the mark.

Only a couple of minutes later, another extremely lucky goal came for the Hills when, with nothing doing, one of the biggest friendly fire falcons anyone will ever see, rebounded fortuitously in front of goal. Pennant Hills had a two-goal lead at the end of the first quarter.

Quarter two was dominated by North Shore as the Bombers’ much better and cleaner extractions started to kick in. The entire second term saw the ball camped in their forward half as they continued to pepper the goals, but could only add one more behind.

The delivery inside 50 was poor with Rugg able to intercept with ease and was among the best on ground for the Demons, organising the resistance. Newcomer to the game, Jesse Smith was an impressive talent in the first half, constantly learning the craft of the game and is suited to playing contested football.

Matilda Eder came into her own in the second half for the Bombers and was initially switched to cover Rugg, then into the ruck and played everywhere around the ground in a clearly best in ground performance. That included snapping the go-ahead goal at a crucial time in the fourth term.

Pennant Hills was trying 100 per cent at every contest but it just could not put the polish needed on possessions or have the ability to create space and execute. Fumble after fumble and interrupted attacking foray after foray just could not cut it and North Shore’s outside handpassing leading to clean running and space worked against it.

North Shore continued to build its momentum through the last quarter and could have put the game away with a couple of shots on goal but the Bombers let Pennant Hills off the hook multiple times. Then, with only two minutes to go and the whole ground engaged and gripped in the tight contest, the Demons finally got a clean clearance from the coalface and turned it downfield for a linkage goal.

It was only three points the difference, but time was now a factor for the Demons with only a minute for North Shore to hang on. It did just that and ground out a vital 3.6 (24) to 3.3 (21) victory.

For Pennant Hills, it is clear that it now has the personnel to defend but the Demons’ major weakness of creating their own space around the contest and executing cleanly is holding them back from taking the next step. For North Shore, Eder remains a key player and the Bombers’ placed kicking and extraction from the stoppage was on show for all to see.

Eder’s two goals was crucial for the Bombers, with Charlotte Watton kicking the other major. Louise Anderson was named among the best with Watton and Eder, while Rugg and Smith were standouts for the Demons.

NORTH SHORE BOMBERS 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 3.6 (24)
PENNANT HILLS DEMONS 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 3.3 (21)

GOALS:
North Shore: M. Eder 2, C. Watton.
Pennant Hills: E. Harvey, J. Llamas, B. Wade

BEST:
North Shore: M. Eder, L. Anderson, C. Watton, M. Bart, M. Barnet-Hepples
Pennant Hills: E. Rugg, J. Smith, E. Cooper, B. Wade, E. Harvey

AROUND THE GROUNDS

Sydney University found its best form by trumping Macquarie University in an upset at home. The Students were no match for the Goannas earlier in the year, but came up trumps with a five goals to one second half to storm to a 5.3 (33) to 2.9 (21) victory.

Students’ skipper Maryanne Harley booted a goal and was named best on ground in Sydney Uni’s win. Keiley Mead returned to also play a key role, while Lucy Gilfedder booted two goals up forward. For the Goannas, Amanda Farrugia impressed yet again, while Caitlin Fletcher also tried hard.

Ladder leaders East Coast Eagles ran away with a huge 65-point win over UNSW-ES Bulldogs to continue their fantastic start to the season. Piling on six goals to one in the opening half and five goals to one in the second half, the Eagles secured an 11.13 (79) to 2.2 (14) victory.

Sarah Burns (four goals) and Laura Moran (three) were the key goalkickers for the Eagles, while Summer Hall and Sarah Burns were named in their best. Hayley Stanford and Chloe Anderson impressed the Bulldogs coaches to be named in the best.

The most one-sided match of the weekend was UTS Bats’ dominant 131-point smashing of Southern Power. The second placed Bats had 36 scoring shots to zero in an incredible performance to come away with the 19.17 (131) to 0.0 (0) victory.

Jessica Quade slammed home 10 goals in the win, with Gillian Behan (four) and Imogen Brown (two) the other multiple goalkickers. Hannah Cerezo was named best-on for her efforts in the victory. For the Power, Amelia Martin was nominated as the coaches pick.