VFL Women's Round 5 2016 - VU Western Spurs v Darebin Falcons
- May 8, 2016
- 3 min read
Darebin have seen off yet another challenger with a 50-point win over the VU Western Spurs in a dour contest at Henry Turner Memorial Reserve.
The match was decided in fits and bursts of play more than any sustained performance from either side. The Falcons kicked five goals in sixteen minutes in the first term and then four in twelve in the second to have the match wrapped up at half time without playing anywhere near their best football. Darebin’s midfield depth allowed them to rotate without losing control, which proved decisive as Spur ruckman Caroline Hardeman and her Falcon counterpart Norieul Kinross fought out an entertaining contest.
53 points adrift going into the third quarter, the Spurs steadily balanced the contest and held Darebin goalless for 41 minutes whilst the imposing forward presence of Alyssa Mifsud and Jess Francke netted them three goals. The match petered out into a tired conclusion in a final quarter notable only for the pack-breaking efforts of Darebin captain Daisy Pearce.
The highly-anticipated clash between Darebin full forward Katie Brennan and Spurs’ full back Lauren Senserrick turned out to be a fizzer. Senserrick has claimed the scalps of St Kilda’s Mo Hope and the Eastern Devils’ Sarah Perkins in the last two matchers but had her colours lowered against Brennan. While her teammates blazed away errantly, Brennan could do no wrong. Finding space to lead into and roosting long bombs off two steps, she had four goals on the board when Senserrick pulled up sore from a marking contest and was moved onto Lauren Arnell. Brennan finished with five first-half goals and was undoubtedly the difference between the two sides.
Darebin benefitted from classy performances from usual suspects Brennan, Darcy Vescio and Sarah Hammond but their most important players came from deep in the mix. Karen Paxman and defender Alex Reynolds found plenty of the ball both within stoppages and in line-breaking runs and Nicole Callinan compiled a silky four quarter performance.
The Spurs couldn’t benefit from their commendable second half defence with sustained attack. It wasn’t as if they were smashed in the centre, as Alex Quigley, Ainslie Kemp and Sarah Lampard toiled all day to get the ball forward. Losing Senserrick should have been a disaster but replacement Ash Guest stunned all as she kept Brennan goalless in the second half and then took the risk of creating rebounding attack.
Darebin coach Jane Lange, who was a match-eve withdrawal with an ankle injury, says her side can easily fix their recent habit of fading out in the second half. “It was all I told them at three quarter time: our effort and structures were good, it was just poor disposal that cost us,” said Lange.
At the start of the season, most would have given the Spurs credit for holding Darebin back for as long as they did. However, coach Debbie Lee said her side was merely “serviceable” and had many identified areas for improvement. “We weren’t playing man on man early, we were just ball watching,” Lee lamented.
Darebin face fellow top four side the Eastern Devils next week while the Spurs will regroup against Cranbourne at Frenken Homes Oval.
Darebin Falcons 5.4 9.8 9.11 11.14.80
VU Western Spurs 0.2 1.3 3.4 4.6.30 Best – (D) Paxman, Brennan, Callinan, Vescio, Kinross, Reynolds. - (VU) Guest, Mifsud, Gunn, Quigley, Lampard, Nicolaci.
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