Round 15, 2025 – Men’s & Women’s Premier Division Review
Written by David Redden
WOMEN’S PREMIER DIVISION:
In a fixture transferred to Blacktown International Sportspark, UTS defeated Pennant Hills by 61 points. Final scores were UTS 8.14.62 to Pennant Hills 0.1.1. The Bats kept the pressure right on UNSW-ES for fifth place with a solid win.
UTS kicked 4 goals and 7 behinds in each half in a consistent performance played in abysmal conditions.
Key forwards Brianna-Lee Wade (4 goals against one of her former clubs) and Sophia Gaukrodger (2 goals) led the way for UTS up forward.
UTS’ best players were Tallulah Kirk, Gaukrodger, Kaitlin McCaffery, Mairead Comerford, Wade and Bridget Corcoran. Pennant Hills was best served by Hayley Marriott, Sophie Pendlebury, Ava Clegg, the wonderfully consistent Sheridan Baker, Scarlett Sheridan and Ashleigh Grubba.
Manly Warringah produced a solid performance in the rain and gloom at Weldon Oval in Curl Curl to defeat St George by 42 points. On a day where goals were extremely hard to come by, the Wolves defeated the improving Dragons 5.13.43 to 0.1.1.
The Wolves led by 17 points at the main break, with St George defending grimly throughout the first half. Manly Warringah kicked 3 more goals in the second half as they consolidated second place behind North Shore.
In-form representative centre half-forward Lauren Bourgeois kicked 2 goals for the Wolves.
Not surprisingly, Manly’s leading players were listed in the Best Six. 2024 Mostyn Medallist Hannah Woolf, Chloe Davis, skipper Ashleigh Carter, Kenya Fahey, the graceful Andrea Roditis and Annabel Lynch performed well in tough conditions for the Wolves. St George was best served by Georgina Ott, Annabelle McHale, Caydelan Mitchell-Bruce, Emily Lawler, Ruby O’Dwyer and Bianca Rudzis.
East Coast Eagles kept Parramatta scoreless in running out 55-point winners at Bruce Purser Reserve. The Eagles won 7.13.55 to the Goannas’ 0.0.0.
The Eagles shone in the gloomy weather at Kellyville, kicking 5 goals in the first half as they build towards yet another Finals Series. East Coast are predicted fourth on the ladder after Round 18, despite eminently winnable games left against Pennant Hills and St George before a possible Minor Semi Final dress rehearsal against UNSW-ES at BISP 1 in the final round of the Home & Away Season.
East Coast had seven individual goalkickers kick 1 major apiece in an even display on a tough day for key forwards.
Like Manly Warringah, East Coast’s Best Six players read like a who’s who of their absolute best players. East Coast’s best players were Aysha Sanchez, Jess Whelan, Bryany Parker, Taylah Canobie, Renee Tomkins and Abbey Martin. Parramatta’s best players were Caitlin Connaughton, Imogen Gow, Brea Trevitt, Ava Saad, Skyla Seal and Stacey Phillips.
North Shore continued their winning ways with a hard-fought 21-point win over Sydney University at Gore Hill Oval. Final scores were North Shore 5.5.35 to Sydney University 2.2.14.
As has been the case on several occasions this season, North Shore jumped out of the blocks early, leading by 15 points at the first break. The Students fought back in the second quarter, reducing the lead to 9 points at half time.
The Bombers then shut the Students down, with their vaunted defence keeping Uni to 2 behinds in the second half as North Shore continued their charge towards a Minor Premiership and a crucial week off.
North Shore had 5 players kick 1 goal each. The Students had 2 players kick 1 goal each.
The Bombers best players were Isadora McLeay, Lucy Yates, Charlotte Tidemann, Amelia Rainbow, Matilda Eder and Emily Bliss. Sydney University was best served by Evie Bowie, Molly Cameron, Saskia Johnson, Amanda Farrugia, Natalia Waterson and Yasmin Sayer.
WOMEN’S DIVISION ONE:
In Womens Division One action, North Shore received a forfeit from South West Sydney, Manly Warringah defeated Newtown by 67 points at Mike Pawley Oval, the UTS & Sydney University fixture at Mahoney Park was cancelled due to Sydney’s inclement weather, and in a thrilling game at Fairfax Reserve, a dogged Camden came from 14 points down to earn a 3.4.22 apiece draw with high-flying Randwick City to cap off a big day in Harrington Park.
WOMEN’S UNDER 20S:
In Womens Under 20s action, North Shore eked out a tough 11-point victory over UNSW-ES at Henson Park, UTS received a forfeit from Parramatta and Sydney University upset competition leaders Manly Warringah by a mere 9 points at Mike Pawley Oval. The race for fourth spot between UTS and UNSW-ES could go down to the wire, with UTS leading the Bulldogs by a narrow 3.33 Match Ratio points with three rounds to go.
MEN’S PREMIER DIVISION:
A blazing first quarter from the resurgent Pennant Hills Demons saw them set up a crucial 23-point victory over UTS at a fixture transferred to BISP 2 due to wet weather in Paddington. Final scores were Pennant Hills 11.8.74 to UTS 8.3.51.
The Demons went berserk in the first quarter, kicking 6 goals to none as they raced out to a 39-point lead at the first break. In an entertaining second quarter, the Bats kicked 5 goals to the Demons 4 as Pennant Hills led by 31 points at the main break.
Scoring became exceedingly difficult in the second half, with UTS kicking 3 goals to 1, with Pennant Hills keeping pace with South West Sydney and picking up a game Sydney University in the race for fourth and fifth place in the Finals.
The Prince, Theo Moraitis, kicked 3 goals for the second successive week as he showed once again how crucial he is to the Demons forward structure. Nick Hey and Oscar Irwin chipped in with 2 goals each for Pennant Hills. Thomas Charles kicked 4 of UTS’ 6 goals in a lone hand up forward for the Bats.
Pennant Hills best players were Nicholas Eynaud, Thomas Edmonds, Mitchell Blow, Liam Everett, Michael Carroll and Irwin. Edmonds (injury) and Blow (VFL duties) have missed parts of the season and will be highly influential in the last 3 rounds as the Demons attempt to sneak into September action.
UTS was best served by Ash Backlund, Henry Gosse, Joshua Lee, Charles, Louis Pribula and George Boyd.
South West Sydney Blues continued their march toward September, defeating East Coast Eagles by 25 points in poor weather at Bruce Purser Reserve. Final scores were South West Sydney 6.5.41 to East Coast Eagles 2.4.16.
South West Sydney set up their victory with a dominant first half, leading by 24 points at the main break. As conditions worsened in the second half, both teams could only manage a goal apiece across the entire half, with the Blues defence (spearheaded by Khy Gibbs and Kain Flynn-Duncombe) rock solid once again.
Blake Jarvis kicked 2 goals for the Blues. East Coast had 2 players kick one goal each.
South West Sydney’s best players were Angus Langley, the consistent Gibbs, representative ruckman Finbar Delbridge, Flynn-Duncombe, Bailey Stewart and Joshua Croft. East Coast was best served by regular contributors Jacob Jones, Brendan Coxall, Cameron Edwards, Liam Sankey, Reeve Simmons and Jesse Eldred.
UNSW-ES have a lock on the double chance in the Finals after their 83-point demolition of a depleted Inner West Magpies at Henson Park. Final scores were UNSW-ES 16.13.109 to Inner West Magpies 4.2.26.
UNSW-ES remarkably kept Inner West scoreless in the first half, leading by 67 points at the main break. The Bulldogs kicked 4 goals to the Magpies 3 in an entertaining last quarter but make no mistake; currently, UNSW-ES stands as the major barricade to North Shore and Manly Warringah playing off in a second successive Grand Final. At full strength, the Bulldogs clearly have the personnel to go deep into September.
Veteran full forward Kieran Emery kicked 5 goals in another vintage display. Skipper Will Spencer, Oscar Peter and Thomas Baxter all chipped in with 2 majors each. Alex Touma kicked 2 goals for the Magpies.
UNSW-ES’ best players were Jordan Endemann, Baxter, Toby Alker, Peter, Emery and Oscar Clifton. Inner West was best served by Keegan Litchfield, Jonathon Bowyer, Oliver Burnett, Ryder Eberhard, Benjamin Klemke and Will Deller.
In their second successive crushing victory, North Shore showed they have returned to their absolute best form with a 104-point thrashing of fourth-placed Sydney University at Gore Hill Oval. Final scores were North Shore 21.18.144 to Sydney University 5.10.40.
The Bombers were ruthless in the first quarter, racing out to a 29-point lead at the first break. North Shore then 15 goals to 3 in the final 3 quarters in an utterly dominant and frightening exhibition on a day where having an artificial grass surface paid enormous dividends for the competition leaders.
The Maxes, Thomas and Yeoland, kicked 4 goals each, and were well-supported by the dependable Matt Buskariol, who chipped in with 3 majors. Braydon Pilot kicked 2 goals for the Students.
North Shore’s best players were the Rolls-Royce Ned Campbell, Yeoland, Jake Veale, Cooper Donald, Max Thomas and Fraser Thurlow. Sydney University was best served by Marcus Valastro, Max Kozlik, Oscar Bosnjakovic, Mamadou Faye, Pilot and Nicholas Andreacchio.
Manly Warringah bounced back to form with a professional 62-point victory over St George at Weldon Oval. Final scores were Manly Warringah 12.14.86 to St George 3.6.24.
Like all the top sides this weekend, the Wolves were clinical in the first quarter, leading by 31 points at the first change. Manly went on with the job, keeping the Dragons to single goals in the first, third and final quarters as their outstanding backline went about their tasks with ruthless efficiency.
Zac Youlten, fresh from the defining performance of his career at North Hobart Oval a fortnight ago, kicked 5 goals for the Wolves. The mercurial and at-times brilliant Youlten looms as a major threat to all teams in the Finals Series. Tom McCaffery also chipped in with 2 majors for Manly Warringah. McCaffery, who played the 2024 Finals Series on 1 leg, also looms as a major weapon for the Wolves over the next 7 weekends, St George had three players kick 1 goal each.
Manly Warringah’s best players were Lachlan Price, Kieran Le Jeune, Thomas O’Leary, Lachlan Kilpatrick, Youlten and McCaffrey. St George was best served by Jordan Taylor, club stalwart Matt Saunders, Jack Logan, Dominic Maunder, Lachlan Querzoli and Finnegan Ritchie.
MEN’S DIVISION ONE:
In Mens Division One action, UNSW-ES defeated Inner West Magpies by 56 points at Henson Park, Parramatta belted Southern Power by 76 points at Gipps Rd, North Shore made a huge leap toward the Minor Premiership with a 55-point thumping of Sydney University at Gore Hill Oval, and Camden annihilated a vastly depleted Pennant Hills by 185 points at Fairfax Reserve, with the huge kick in percentage rocketing the Cats to second place ahead of the Goannas.
In an amazing Division One Top Four, remarkably, four sides are locked on 44 points. Both Parramatta and Sydney University have upcoming byes, giving North Shore and Camden a saloon passage into the Top Two. A massive Round 18 sees Sydney Uni host Parramatta AND North Shore host Camden, in the perfect curtain-raiser for what will surely be an epic MD1 Finals Series.
