Sport
11 August, 2026
Avoca marches to 40-goal victory over Harcourt
Defending three-peat champions Avoca produced another textbook performance at Harcourt’s expense at the Bulldogs kennel, coasting to a comfortable 67-27 victory.
With wondrous defenders Caitlin Drummond and Ella Patten effectively stalling the Lions’ attack for extended periods, star shooters Maddy Egan and Gina Steel overwhelmed Harcourt’s stubborn defensive efforts.
Saturday’s defeat officially ends Harcourt’s sudden push for finals after starting 2026 0-8, a sour end to a stunning mid-season turnaround that will fill the Lions with optimism for 2027.
Besides Talent Identified prospect Shayla Blair replacing Abbi Shepherd at wing defence for the reigning premiers, the Bulldogs and Lions were unchanged from their last outing against Maldon and Dunolly respectively.
Building upon their superb performance during Harcourt’s narrow defeat to the Eagles, the defensive duo of Laura Suckling and Carly Chaplin were holding their own against Avoca’s stellar shooting tandem, forcing Lucy Howell and Stacey Blair to build patiently for an opening to Egan and Steel.
While they were competitive on the defensive end, the Lions struggled to get anything going on offence, constantly running into a Drummond and Patten shaped brick wall.
Drummond and Patten’s takeaways handed Avoca attacking opportunities they pounced on with typical efficiency, boasting an 11-goal advantage at quarter time.
After being held to four goals in the opening term, Harcourt brought on Zoe McLean to give themselves extra creativity in the midcourt.
Alongside Morgan Howorth and Ursula van Dyk, McLean provided more chances for Jarrenhy Webb and Jordan Bagley to hit the scoreboard for the Lions throughout the second quarter.
However, even the noticeably damp court at Avoca Public Park couldn’t slow the Bulldogs’ fluent ball movement, which sliced through Harcourt’s defence and allowed Egan and Steel to add 19 goals in the second quarter.
Despite returning from half time trailing by 22 goals, there was still plenty of fight in the Lions’ hearts, resulting in a competitive start to the second half.
Ella Rule retook the wing defence bib to start the third quarter and provided a needed jolt to Harcourt’s defensive pressure with the help of Howorth, Chaplin and Suckling.
As they began to force the defending champions into some uncommon attacking errors, the Lions breached the great wall of Drummond and Patten with more regularity, ensuring their deficit increased by just five goals at third-quarter time.
Dissatisfied by their performance in the previous term, the Bulldogs were determined to produce a barking final quarter. They delivered it spades, outscoring the Lions 19-6 in the last 15 minutes to balloon the final margin to 40 goals.
Egan continued her remarkable shooting streak of scoring at least 40 goals in every game this season with a game-high 45 goals, well supported by Steel and her 22 goals.
Bagley shook off some shooting woes to net 19 goals for the Lions alongside Webb, who added eight.