ERWFL Mid Season Review – Mount Evelyn

By Alyce Collett

After what some may describe as a bit of a topsy turvy season, Mt Evelyn are sitting in a pretty comfortable position heading into the second half of the season in the Eastern Regional Women’s Premier Division competition.

After coming runner up last season, going down to Vermont by eight points in an enthralling grand final, this year the Rovers were aiming to go one better. Things did not go quite to plan first up, with a loss to Chirnside Park by 61 points. They bounced back the following week, emphatically defeating the Waverley Blues by 57 points. 

Round 3 saw a tight loss to Whitehorse Suns, before a win in round 4 in the grand final rematch against Vermont a small slice of revenge for the Rovers. They came back to earth with a 14 point loss to Donvale before steading once again with back to back wins against Blackburn and Bayswater.

As the ladder currently stands, Mt Evelyn sit in 3^rd place, a game clear of 4^th placed Donvale. Donvale do have a game in hand over them though, so Mt Evelyn cannot afford to rest on their laurels just yet. 

Mount Evelyn had an up and down start to the year.

As there is only one game separating 2^nd placed Whitehorse and 6^th placed Vermont, every game is crucial with so many sides battling it out for a spot in the finals.

So far this season, Mt Evelyn’s first quarters have for the most part been a determining factor in the way the matches have ended up. 

Taking the game against Whitehorse out of the equation (which doesn’t fit the pattern) if at quarter time Mt Evelyn are leading or level with their opposition and the opponent’s score is lower than 10 points, Mt Evelyn have ended up winning the match. 

In two of Mt Evelyn’s three losses so far this season, their opponents had the lead at quarter time. In the third loss, against Whitehorse, Mt Evelyn lead until three quarter time, but got overrun in the last quarter.

On an individual note, the top goalkickers for Mt Evelyn have been Isobel Urquhart and Lily Kelly, who have kicked eight and seven goals for the season respectively. The highest individual game tally with Kate Hutchinson’s three against Waverley Blues, and Urquhart and Kelly’s three each against Baywater. Some players that have consistently been named in the best players list include Georgia Ploegsma, Jessica Smith and Nicole Akers.

Looking ahead, this is what the rest of the season looks like for Mt Evelyn:

Round 8 – Sunday 23^rd June at 1pm against Whitehorse Suns at Springfield Park
Round 9 – BYE
Round 10 – Saturday 6^th July at 5pm against Blackburn at Home  
Round 11 – Saturday 13^th July at 2pm against Chirnside Park at Kimberley Reserve
Round 12 – Saturday 27^th July at 10:30am against Vermont at Home  
Round 13 – Saturday 3^rd August at 5pm against Donvale at Home  
Round 14 – Saturday 10^th August at 4:45pm against Bayswater at Bayswater Oval