THE Calder Cannons and Greater Western Victoria (GWV) Rebels both enjoyed their first wins of the season in round three. They were joined by the Falcons, Knights and Ranges, who all enjoyed victories to keep their undefeated streaks alive. For the Bushrangers, they still remain undefeated, but dropped two points in a draw against Gippsland, who won its first game in the TAC Cup Girls competition last week.

Greater Western Victoria Rebels 6.10 (46) defeated Bendigo Pioneers 2.1 (13)

By Cameron Ross

A quality second half performance from the GWV Rebels saw them run over the top of the Bendigo Pioneers at Mars Stadium on Saturday. In heavy rain, both sides attacked the footy with ferocious vigour in what was a fantastic opportunity to play on an AFL-standard oval.

Georgia Clarke was outstanding for the home side throughout, making life extremely difficult for the Pioneers midfielders and defenders to move the ball, due to her magnificent positioning and anticipation. Captain Lauren Butler was instrumental in the second half, consistently winning the ball at stoppages and laying massive tackles. Other important players in the win for the Rebels, was the “untackleable” Hannah Simpson, the electrifying Nyakoat Dojiok and goal-kicking forward Sophie Molan.

Megan Williamson played a huge game for the visitors. Led by Butler and Clarke, the Rebels put the Pioneers defence under a huge amount of pressure with long kicks into the forward line, and time after time, Williamson stood up to the task and brought it back out. The Bendigo captain’s third quarter was terrific and potentially saved this game from being a blowout. Kodi Jacques was also fantastic for the Pioneers. She made her presence felt with a consistently aggressive approach to the footy, which created an enormous amount of energy for her teammates. Jacques’ first half was outstanding, yet she played consistently well throughout, and should be very proud of her performance. Other contributions for the Pioneers came from Jemma Finning, Maddie Baldwin and Emily Cooper.

Murray Bushrangers 4.4 (28) drew Gippsland Power 4.4 (28)

By Taylah Melki

In trying conditions both teams battled it out to claim the four points. But in the end, neither side could be separated resulting in the first draw for the season with both the Power and Bushrangers taking home two points each. Though the slippery conditions made it tricky to score and control the footy, both teams applied plenty of pressure and took big contested grabs.

The Power got away to a good start with a dominant second quarter, to take the lead going into the half-time break. Their crisp ball use and ability to hit targets seemed to be the difference in the opening term of the game. But the Bushrangers came out firing in the second half of the game, working hard to regain control of the match. With a big final term from the fourth-placed Bushrangers, the likes of Grace Egan and Olivia Barber stood up, taking big grabs and scoring a goal to put them back on even pegging with the Power.

Tyla Hanks had a huge game for Gippsland, dominating across the middle of the ground and down back. Her strong hands and ability to read the footy was important as it allowed her to position herself in damaging areas and help to open up space for her team mates. The likes of Megan Fitzsimon also impressed for the Power in their first draw of the season. Fitzsimon competed hard for the footy and used her thumping kick to help propel her team forward.

Up the other end of the ground, Murray Bushrangers star, Rebecca Webster had a stellar game. The difficult conditions did not seem to worry her, as she took plenty of big grabs and racked up the touches. Webster imposed herself on the contest and worked hard across the ground to provide an option for her team mates. Her clean hands were invaluable around the contest and she showcased her kicking ability. Teammate Tamara Smith also stood up for the Bushrangers with a huge last quarter. Smith’s hard running created plenty of space and good leads to help get her team back in the game. She was creative with ball in hand and worked hard in and around the contest.

Geelong Falcons 4.6 (30) defeated Dandenong Stingrays 3.6 (24)

A hard-fought match at Deakin resulted in another win to the Falcons, this time, in much closer fashion. At half-time, just two goals had been scored for the match and it was Geelong leading by three points. Then the home side fought its way through a contested second half to scrape through by a goal.

It was a strong defensive performance by Geelong, with Lucy McEvoy, Abbey Chapman, Denby Taylor and Mia Sheppard named in the best. Captain McEvoy even found herself up forward, booting a goal for the afternoon and putting in a great all-round performance. Olivia Purcell was up to her usual tricks, putting on a wonderful performance in the midfield once again.

The home side had been pushed by Stingrays, with captain Jordyn Allen leading the way. Allen kicked Dandenong’s last goal to bring her side within three points of a victory. Meanwhile on the other side of the ground, Eloise Allen-Burns held down the fort in defence. Isabelle Shannon had a great day through the middle of the ground, battling hard against the formidable Geelong midfield.

Western Jets 2.1 (13) defeated by Calder Cannons 4.1 (25)

The first game of the RAMS Arena triple-header was the battle of the winless teams. The Jets put up a big fight against the Cannons, as their defence put in the hard yards multiple times. But it was the Calder midfield that stood tall to claim a 12-point win.

Leading the way was Calder skipper, Madison Prespakis. Prespakis has been performing consistently over the first two rounds and in round three, she managed to take her game to another level. She was an inside bull and always knew how to find the footy and dish it off to her teammates. One of those teammates was Georgia Patrikios, who Prespakis worked in tandem with to put the game away for the Cannons. Patrikios especially stood up in the second half, where her impressive agility and trademark side-step troubled her opponents.

For the Jets, Elizabeth Georgiostathis had a stellar performance and did not give up all game. She was able to burst through contests and work the ball really well out of the stoppage to create opportunities for her teammates to go forward. Isabella Pritchard had another great game in defence, often stopping the Cannons forwards in their tracks with bone-crunching tackles. She also played a Georgia Macpherson style of footy, as her intercept marking was on show.

Northern Knights 6.5 (41) defeated Sandringham Dragons 1.5 (11)

This one was a tight battle throughout, with Northern only getting out to a strong lead in the fourth quarter. The Knights booted four goals to Sandringham’s one behind, showing how dangerous they can be on just one quarter of firepower.

Gabby Newton was a star for the Knights, and has been named as the AFL Draft Central Player of the Week for her efforts. Newton’s efforts did not end in the ruck, as she made her presence known around the ground. She was able to clear the ball into space multiple times and weave the ball out of stoppages to penetrate her team forward. Fellow Northern leader, Britney Gutknecht also had a solid outing, making an impact just about everywhere on the ground. Gutknecht showed incredible work ethic and did not stop running all day. One minute she would be lining up for a goal in the forward line, then in the next she would be clunking a mark in defence.

The Dragons were able to keep themselves in the game for three quarters thanks to some stellar football from Eleanor Brown and Eliza McNamara. Brown was a brute in the midfield, and laid immense pressure on the Knights early on. She was able to stand up in tackles and lay a few of them herself to stop Northern from propelling forward. McNamara started off quietly, but worked her way into the game in style. She started accumulating the ball in defensive 50, composed herself with the ball in hand and started many passages of plays for Sandringham.

Oakleigh Chargers 2.1 (13) defeated by Eastern Ranges 6.5 (41)

The Eastern Ranges got off to a flyer in the last game of the triple-header, trapping the ball in their forward half for the majority of the first quarter. But Oakleigh had a weapon up their sleeve to counteract the Ranges’ forward prowess.

Katie Lynch was outstanding for the Chargers, and could well have been the best player on the ground. Lynch made an impact whenever she got the ball and probably touched it at least 15 times. She was strong through the contest and won plenty of hard balls for her side. She was complemented by Gemma Lagioia, who was not at her damaging best but still had a sensational performance. She was held down well by the Ranges midfielders but broke her way into the game as the day went on. A tackle on AFLW Academy member, Emerson Woods was the highlight of her performance.

Despite the tackle, Woods still had a solid performance for Eastern, and probably played her best game of the season. Woods got the play going in the first quarter, as she was proactive in the forward line. Laura McClelland was the star inside 50, booting four goals for the match and marking everything that came her way. She stood tall on multiple occasions against the Oakleigh defenders, and gave them some headaches throughout the match. Olivia Meagher was another impressive player for Eastern, creating plenty of forward thrusts and even getting on the end of some kicks inside 50. She was very damaging inside 50.