Tara Murray
Hillside has sent an early statement to the rest of the Essendon District Football League women’s premier competition.
Having started the season well with two wins, the Sharks faced their biggest test yet on Saturday against last season’s premiers Oak Park.
The Sharks not only passed the test with flying colours, but showed they would be one of the sides to beat this season with the 8.7 (55)-2.1 (13) win.
Sharks coach Blaise Ferraro was thrilled with the performance.
“We can’t complain,” he said. “The girls are playing really well.
“We had our eyes on this one and the next one against Aberfeldie to see where we are at.
“The girls were up for and played well from start to finish.”
The Sharks led by 19 points at quarter time and increased the margin to 34 points at the main break with the Kangaroos failing to score in the first half.
The second half was closer, but the Sharks still managed to win the half to seal the really good win.
Ferraro said there was one area that really stood out for him in the performance.
“The pressure was the main point,” he said. “It was non-stop and has been good for the first three games.
“They had a couple of players out, but everyone has that at this time of the year.”
Former AFLW listed player Caitlin Sargent kicked five goals in what Ferraro said was a best on ground performance.
He said Sargent benefited from some extra space.
Hannah Ibraham and Lisa Parisi, who did the job on Alex Quigley, were the other standouts according to Ferraro.
For Ferraro in his first season as coach, he couldn’t have asked for much more.
“They are a really coachable group,” he said. “Anything I put in front of them they run through it.”
“We haven’t set any expectations, we want to make finals though.
“We wanted to get the group together as they struggled for numbers last year. We wanted to get that bond together and push for finals.
“If we get one or two more wins on the board we’ll go close to locking in finals and we can maybe look at other things.”
A big positive for the Sharks this season has been the inclusion of a reserves side for the first time.
Ferraro said it had been good for the club but the group had been unlucky with only one game so far.
Oak Park’s reserves side forfeited on Saturday.
The Sharks tests continue this round, facing Aberfeldie. It’s a split round, with the Sharks having the bye in the first week.
“That’s the next box to tick,” Ferraro said. “We match up well with them.
“It’ll be a different test for us.”
In other matches, Keilor remains without a win after losing to Oak Park, 8.7 (55)-2.1 (13).
In men’s division 1, Keilor Park lost to Tullamarine on Anzac Day, while on Saturday, Hillside beat Moonee Valley and St Albans lost to Craigieburn.
