By JARROD POTTER
VWFL – DIVISION 1 AND 3
ENDEAVOUR Hills Women’s Football Club finally had a chance to sink its teeth in against a VWFL Division 3 top side as it knocked over Kew by 40 points.
Up to now the Falcons had flown effortlessly over Bayswater (winning by 82), Seaford (113), St Kilda Sharks (93) and Cranbourne (136), but the real tests started on Sunday against the third-ranked Bears.
“It’s a positive in a very real way,” Endeavour Hills coach Mark Haughton said. “We were looking forward to the Kew challenge and they have a good coach, couple of good running players and state reps – it was something we were prepared for and knew we could stand up against.”
After an early back-and-forth, Endeavour Hills emerged triumphantly to boot nine goals and take a comprehensive win – it’s fifth from five VWFL games as a club.
After earning their second goal in the second term, Kew was unable to find a way through the Falcons’ fortress-like defence again – with Endeavour Hills only conceding 34 points so far across five games.
The Falcons’ forwards took a stranglehold of the match from half-time onwards.
Getting lace-out delivery from Maria Pickering, Ashlee Ladson and Amanda Hancock, Siona Pilkington (three goals), Rebecca Sherry (two goals) and Georgia Punton (two goals) lapped it up and shot truly to rattle through an efficient 9.4 for the afternoon.
The early attack invigorated the Falcons if anything, as they knew they had to work their way out of danger rather than run away effortlessly with a guaranteed victory.
“The girls just lifted – we told them to get excited about the challenge,” Haughton said.“We made some errors under pressure, but then we really responded and this is what we want and we have to respect Kew for it – to get up and ready for the challenge.”
Injuries to Sarah Punton (leg) and Sarah Wallace (concussed) – the latter kept in hospital overnight – were the only downsides from a promising triumph as Endeavour Hills continued to stay on top in Division 3.
The challenge continues this weekend as Endeavour Hills – unbeaten with a monstrous percentage of 1464.71 – hosts second-placed Deer Park, also unbeaten in VWFL Division 3 – as a finals preview with some extremely big bets on the line between the two coaches.
“We’re looking forward to facing off – there’s a cup of coffee riding on the result – big stakes,” Haughton said.
“They’re a bit more physical than Kew – they’re solid and have a good work ethic.
“It’s a lot better to go into these games – as we know we’re developing and these challenges are best at finding out the character of what we’ve got.”
Endeavour Hills’ seconds knocked off Knox by 31 and host Montmorency in a Falcons’ double-header.
In Division 1 football, Cranbourne dominated in an absolute canter over Melbourne Uni. The Eagles were far too strong – blasted 92 unanswered points against the MUGARS as Kirsten Macleod and Bianca Jakobsson bagged four goals each.
Sitting third with a 5-1-1 record, Cranbourne hosts Bendigo on Sunday, from 2pm.
Cranbourne’s Division 3 was beaten by 27 points by Mordialloc and will host Bayswater, from noon Sunday.
VWFL – DIVISION 3
KEW 1.0 2.0 2.2 2.6 (18)
ENDEAVOUR HILLS 2.2 5.3 8.4 9.4 (58)
KEW
Goals: S. Poulton, S. Taylor. Best: R. O’Regan, S. Taylor, A. McEwin, Z. Bertrand, P. Lodge, T. Donnan.
ENDEAVOUR HILLS
Goals: S. Pilkington 3, R. Sherry 2, G. Punton 2, S. Punton, V. Fudalinski. Best: M. Pickering, A. Ladson, A. Hancock, S. Beattie, S. Pilkington, C. Rogers.
