VFLW Match Report: Round 13 vs North Melbourne Werribee

10/08/2026

Sunny conditions that appeared perfect for football were negated by strong, gusty winds on Saturday as we took on reigning Premiers North Melbourne Werribee at Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval for Round 13 of our VFLW campaign.

Despite a competitive first half that saw us right in the hunt at the main break, we were unable to match the intensity of the Kangaroos for the full four quarters, going down 6.5 (41) to 12.7 (79) at the full-time siren.

With the strong breeze favouring the Sautner Goal end, we were up against it in the first term kicking against the wind, as the visitors made the most of the conditions to score the game’s opening goal within the first three minutes of play.

It took a while to settle into the game, however, slowly but surely, we began to level things up across the ground, competing well in the ruck and at ground level to win plenty of clearances, though the Kangaroos’ speed on the outside of the contest continued to help them hem us inside defensive 50.

A brilliant Jordan Membrey mark from a clearing kick helped us eventually escape the last lines, and from there we moved the ball down the ground and locked the ball inside our own forward line, where relentless pressure resulted in a superb snap through the middle from Zoe Barbakos to put our first on the board.

However, the visitors hit back before the break, leaving us trailing 1.0 (6) to 2.2 (14) heading into the quarter time huddle, though we had overcome a slow start to lead the disposal count 62-57, and conceding an eight-point deficit against the wind felt like a positive result.

With the wind at our backs to start the second term, we continued the positive trend, and it didn’t take long for us to reap the benefits on the scoreboard.

Winning the clearance from the opening ball up of the quarter after Ava Bibby won the ruck duel, Indi Sherritt sent us inside 50, and while it was immediately repelled, Kyla Forbes was able to clunk an intercept mark and hit Barbakos on the lead.

The set shot missed, but she soon made amends, with Alana Porter spoiling the ensuing Kangaroos kick-in to force a stoppage inside forward 50, from which Barbakos laid a huge bump to knock the ball out of her opponent’s hands, before swooping to snap her second of the contest and dragging us back to one point behind.

Repeat stoppages began to take hold of the game, suiting Charlotte Taylor to a tee as she found plenty of the ball in the second term, while Emmelie Fiedler produced some brilliant moments too, smothering the ball from the mark as the visitors looked to enter their forward 50, before following up with a big tackle to tie things up on the wing in a team-lifting effort.

The Kangaroos kicked the next goal of the game, though Fiedler would soon after be involved in yet another electrifying passage as we continued to find answers to the reigning Premiers' challenge.

With the ball thrown in deep in our defensive 50, Bibby plucked the ball from the ruck contest and handballed to Sophie Casey, who launched a big bomb straight down the middle of the ground and beyond the centre circle.

With superior speed and strength, Membrey beat her opponent to the loose ball and shrugged her off in the process, running inside 50 with only one Kangaroo between her and the goals, before a looping handball over the top landed right in the lap of Fiedler, who capped a stunning piece of play with her first major of the afternoon.

All up, from the throw in to the goal umpire waving the flags, the stunning passage saw us move the ball the length of the ground in 23 seconds to boot our third major and once again draw within two points, though a goal to the visitors inside the final minute of the half meant we entered the rooms down 3.2 (20) to 4.4 (28).

While our first half was valiant, the premiership quarter saw the visitors pull well clear and establish a decisive gap by three-quarter time, holding us scoreless and adding six unanswered majors to extend the margin to 46 points by the final change.

We responded positively in the final term, as Porter needed just 44 seconds to break the drought and add her first of the contest, before Barbakos added her third a few minutes later to give us a bit of a spark.

Adding her fourth major of the afternoon with a brilliant snap while running away from goal, Barbakos dragged the margin back under 30 points at the midway point of the quarter, giving us a sliver of hope.

The visitors put paid to the dream with the final two goals of the contest, as we eventually fell by 38 points as the final siren sounded on our last home game of the season.

We will look to regroup ahead of a big clash against Essendon next week, travelling to NEC Hangar in Tullamarine for our Round 14 clash at 11:05am on Saturday 15th August.

SCORES

Sandringham: 1.0, 3.2, 3.2, 6.5 (41)

North Melbourne Werribee: 2.2, 4.4, 10.6, 12.7 (79)

Goals: Barbakos 4, Porter, Fiedler

Disposals: Taylor 17, Sherritt 14, Sutton, Membrey, Casey 13

Visit the VFL/VFLW website for the full stats.