WSL2 - Report by Torben Fink-Jensen

This week we welcomed Bene Catlin into the team. Another Kiwi arrival to Australia to join Emmy as the gene pool improves every year 😂. We had 10 players vs 7 for Monash but missing team captain Alex meant we needed a good showing from the rest of the team to make up for it. Monash are down the bottom of the table so we had high expectations of a win. Our structured game plan was executed well with good setups. Bene was on the near post and received the ball and snuck it under the goalie's hands for a first touch goal.  We managed another quick couple of goals before going a bit quiet for the rest of the quarter. Monash picked up a goal and a couple of great saves by Katie kept the scoreboard in check. We had a flurry at the end of the quarter with Olivia and Emmy getting on the board making it 5-1. Monash picked up an 8th player at the beginning of the second quarter, when their proper goalkeeper arrived, which also gave them a sub. We got into our rhythm quickly scoring regularly whilst keeping them goalless. We had a number of 2 on 1 and 3 on 2 opportunities. We didn't waste too many as we shot out to a 12-1 lead. We also sucked a number of kickouts which meant that going onto the 2nd half they had 4 players on 2 fouls. By the end of the 3rd quarter they had lost one of their players, and we had advanced the scoreboard by another 7 goals. But Monash kept coming at us and some good outside shooting netted them 4 goals of their own, including one effort from half way. Monash continued without giving up in the 4th quarter but this time our defence tightened up and we stayed on top of the scoreboard. Unfortunately Emmy took a knock to the face and so that reduced our team by one while she tried to recover. We finished off with another 4 goals to secure an 18 advantage knowing that we played a quality game even if the pressure wasn't as strong this week as previous weeks.

Essendon defeated Monash : 23 - 5   

Goals : LisaAndo 6, Mietta 6, Claudia 3, Olivia 3, Bene 2, Emmy 1, Ash 1, Lara 1

BELOW : WSL2 game night photos courtesy of Torben Fink-Jensen (see more on our FB page)

WSL3 - Report by Lisa Murray-Segal

After struggling for numbers last week and having to borrow some SL2 girls, we had 13 of our 14 girls confirmed for this week's game. But 2 hours out from the first whistle, we had a couple of late withdrawals and ended up with 11, including first gamer Polina - welcome to the team! Facing two Essendon players on the opposition team in Amelia and Frankie plus a group of younger players, gave us an opportunity to use our experience, provided we could match them for pace. We got off to a flying start with Clare and Isi both scoring doubles. We out swam them on breaks and were solid in centre forward. Our defence was a little loose, and we allowed a couple of goals to slip through, but up 4-2 at the break. Our confidence grew in the second quarter, as we moved around, created better space and got the ball up quickly on the turnarounds. We kept them scoreless, and again managed to score through Clare and Isi, with LisaMS managing to swim her way into goal with the ball for another. So we went into the halftime break at 7-2. Our guest coach Kira asked us to create more space up forward and not crowd each other. We were quick to put that into practice with all players stepping up to play their part. Goals came through consistently as Taryn, Sally, LisaMS, Clare and Isi all scored and Sandra kept the goal net clear at the other end, making it 12-2 going into the final break. With the game result secure, we swapped Isi into goal and gave Sandra some field time and also allowed Polina some more game time to get a feel for things. We only scored one goal in the final term through Taryn, and Isi's short arms 😋 in goal saw a couple sneak by but it was a solid result for the girls who are really starting to come together as a team.

Essendon defeated Ess/Mon/NYPD/DVEA : 13 - 4

Goals : Clare 4, Isabelle 4, LisaMS 2, Taryn 2, Sally 1

WSL3 (Combo Jnr Team) - Report by Frankie Varghese

This week's game against Essendon was a tough but very enjoyable one. The atmosphere of the game was fun and good natured. Essendon played a strong game, and although they won, our team worked hard and had some very strong attacks. In the first quarter, Samara scored 2 magnificent goals and in the last quarter, both Noee and Piper took a shot at goals and scored. As a team, we left the pool stronger players than when we started, and we’re excited for what the rest of the season has to offer.

Essendon/Monash/NYPD/DVEA were defeated by Essendon : 4 - 13

Goals : Samara 2, Noee 1, Piper 1

MSL4 - Report by "The Silver Fox" Lee Howe

With the day starting out to be the coldest day of the year the Essendon boys rocked up to MSAC to play the Ringwood Pirates! The first quarter was a little out of shape as the cold took affect. We struggled with structure and composure with Liam opening our account, ending the quarter 1 all. In the second we found our rhythm and opened the gap out to 2 with Ryan and Paul adding to the tally : 4-2. By halftime we started to feel for the old blokes as they had no bench and their lack of fitness started to show. That didn’t stop them from shooting at every chance. Felix was an absolute beast and was knocking down every shot they threw at him!! We went into the last quarter up 8-3, but the old blokes kept on coming. I am happy to say that we held fast and walked away with a “w”. Well done guys - that's 3 from 3 - let’s keep it up!

Essendon defeated the Ringwood Pirates : 11 - 5  

Goals : Lee 5, Paul 2, Ryan 2, Ambrose 1, Liam 1

12&U Mixed - Report by David Sage

It’s the enthusiasm of the U12’s that is most engaging to watch with every match the passing is improving, the range of experience of team members makes some of the longer passes less predictable and both teams capitalised on short or misplaced passes. This was more evident with the increased space that most players were probably used to, as the Melbourne High School 25m pool was devoid of perimeter ropes.  There was some great passing and long range solo efforts by both teams. Scoring was tight but consistent each quarter going in favour of DVE Aquatic with 1 of their players dominating, scoring 5 of their 11 goals.

Essendon/Footscray were defeated by DVE Aquatic : 6 - 11  Goals : TBC

14&U Girls - Report by David Sage

So, you get up in the wee small hours to sit on the couch and watch the mighty Stingers win their opening match of the Olympics and marvel at the skill and fitness of the athletes. Then not too many hours later you're at the Girls U14 comp at a South Yarra pool and to be honest, I could see a lot of similarities between the games.  Both teams had strong passing and movement skills, there was plenty of strong tackling and defending, intercepts and whole team sprints. The first quarter in particular was a tight run affair with a score of 1-3 in favour of MC at the first break. The second quarter was still as competitive though MC pushed ahead slightly on the score board and led 2-5 by half time. Early in the third quarter MC had a penalty which was saved by our goalie and pushed out for a corner which was turned into another goal for MC. The competitiveness of both teams was on display through to the end of the match but even with our goalie making some cracking saves in the fourth quarter, the game was comfortably in MCs favour by the final siren. 

Essendon/Footscray/Northcote were defeated by Melbourne Collegians : 2 - 12   Goals : TBC

14&U Boys

Essendon/Monash/Geelong/Footscray Vs DVE Aquatic : game result unknown

Youth Boys

Essendon/Monash/NYPD/Northcote Vs DVE Aquatic : game result unknown