REIGNING back-to-back premiers East Coast Eagles have sent an ominous message to the rest of AFL Sydney Women’s Premier Division with a 28-point victory over challenger Parramatta Goannas. The Eagles held the Goannas goalless in the first half, and kept them to just one goal for the game, securing a 6.5 (41) to 1.7 (13) win in the process.

Once again Right from the first tap, Caitlin Reid showed how valuable she is to her team. After a season with Geelong’s VFLW side, Reid returned and had an influence, getting it down to her teammates and the Goannas struggled to get the ball past halfway for the next eight minutes.

The Eagles showed why they are flag favourites, getting the job done convincingly despite missing three of their prime movers. They shared the ball around and had six individual goalkickers in the win, kicking four majors to nil in the opening half, and by the final break had broke away to a 28-point lead.

To Parramatta’s credit, the Goannas stuck to the task and did not give in, but it was a bridge too far, breaking even in the final term for that three quarter time deficit to remain the same by the final siren.

Shiarna Tarasenko was named best-on for the Eagles, as she and Michelle Foscarini stepped up in other teammates absences, while Reid was a crucial figurehead in the ruck.

The only worry for the Eagles was the multiple periods of drawn play Parramatta were able to achieve as the game wore on. Some of their structural rotations left the pathways to goal temporarily closed, until the next burst.

For the Goannas, Chloe Davis was impressive while being constantly under pressure, as was Kiera Yerbury who stepped up in the loss. Her contest-to-contest work was exceptional. While Parramatta could improve their inside grunt work, the young side has done well stepping up under pressure.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

In a thrilling game transferred to Blacktown, UNSW-ES Bulldogs almost pulled off the upset against the UTS Bats. The Bats had only managed two 50-metre penalty goals for the majority of the game, but were able to kick away to win by 16 points, 4.6 (30) to 2.2 (14).

Manly Warringah Wolves stepped up against fellow contender Sydney University, coming away with the four-goal victory. The Wolves trailed by a point at quarter time but kicked 4.4 (28) to 0.3 (3) in the last three quarters to come away with the win.

In the blowout of the weekend, North Shore Bombers scored a 96-0 victory over St George Dragons at Gore Hill Oval. The Bombers used all of their experience to secure the 16-goal win, in a real team effort across the board as they moved to within four points of the top four.