By Hayley Wildes
South Eastern Women’s Football (SEWF) claimed a thrilling one-point, extra time interleague win over the Northern Football Netball League (NFNL) on Saturday at Preston City Oval.
“It was just a really hard, contested game of footy between two teams that were still finding their feet and just having a rip at each other,” SEWF assistant and Cranbourne Women’s Division 2 coach Kris Smith said.
With scores tied after three quarters, Chloe Hunt put SEWF in front early in the final term with her third goal of the day. Northern’s Cassie Hurst levelled the scores again after a huge tackle and set-shot goal.
For the final eight minutes, the deadlock couldn’t be broken and when the siren sounded, it was all even.
Chaos ensued.
“No one really knew what was going.” Smith said.
“As coaches, we were trying to get on the field to talk to the players and the umpires were telling us to get off.”
Eventually, coaches were allowed on the field and one final address was given before two five-minute periods of extra time got underway.
Neither team scored in the first five minutes, but halfway through the second period, Hunt –as she had done all day – marked strongly.
A 30 metre set-shot from the boundary drifted wide, but it was a point that will be remembered for a long time.
“From there, it was a matter of us holding on. We were actually still trying to kick that next goal to seal it, but when it got down to the last minute and a half, we thought maybe we can try to save it from here.” Smith said.
When the siren sounded, celebrations took over for SEWF.
Olivia Aings was named best on ground for SEWF in a ruthless and inspiring display, while Chloe Hunt (three goals), Alicia Heins, Jess Johnston, Tayla Tatterson and Chelsea Wilkinson were impressive in the 4.7 (31) to 4.6 (30) win.
Meanwhile, in round 3 VFLW action, the Casey Demons were overrun by a fast finishing Southern Saints outfit at SkyBus Stadium on Saturday.
After a dominant start, that saw Casey leading by 17 points after the first term, the Saints clawed their way back into the contest.
The Demons held a four-point half time lead, with the likes of Katherine Smith, Kate Hore and Madelaine Shevlin getting plenty of the ball.
The lone goal of the third term belonged to Casey as Kaila Bentvelzen guided one through.
A two goal buffer heading into the final term wasn’t enough as the Saints came out firing. Three goals in seven minutes saw the Saints turn the match on its head, gaining the momentum and a seven-point lead.
An Alison Brown goal at the 16-minute mark gave the Saints a 14-point lead with just minutes remaining. Casey’s Eden Zanker goalled in the final minute, but the siren sounded before the Demons could make another foray forward.
Casey was defeated 4.7 (31) to 6.3 (39). Katherine Smith was best for the Demons, while Darcy Guttridge also impressed.
