Sport
30 June, 2026
Bulldogs conquer Redbacks in Blair’s 550th game
For the second week running, Avoca has survived a grave challenge to their historic unbeaten streak with a blistering second half that allowed the reigning premiers to conquer Carisbrook 64-45.
Following a low-scoring first half, the Bulldogs led the Redbacks by just two goals. Extra motivated with club legend Stacey Blair playing in her 550th game, Avoca pulled away in the third term before dominating the fourth quarter 20-8.
Alongside the tight victory, the Bulldogs celebrated Stacey’s historic achievement by starting her daughter and junior standout Shayla Blair at wing defence, a major surprise for Stacey, who didn’t find out until moments before game time.
While Saturday provided another example of Avoca’s greatness, it also showcased how contenders like Carisbrook are closing in on their elite level, with a back-and-forth first quarter a clear citation.
Similar to their narrow round 10 victory over Navarre, the defending champions were on the back foot early against the red-hot Redbacks.
Following her excellent performance against Lexton, Lauren Jones continued to fill the shoes of the noticeably absent Laura Hurse, providing relentless defensive pressure on Avoca’s attack alongside Elise Mottram and Finley Wagstaff.
Once again called upon to deny their opponents a dream start, the defensive juggernaut of Caitlin Drummond and Ella Patten held Avoca’s fort brilliantly, forcing Redbacks shooters Jordan Macilwain and Abbey Nalder to settle for tough shots early while owning the rebounding battle.
The Bulldogs and Redbacks remained deadlocked at 11-11 after a gritty opening term, with neither team showing signs of letting up during the second quarter.
Avoca made the first substitution of the match midway through the second quarter, with Kodie Greenwood making an immediate impact off the bench after taking the goal keeper bib from Patten.
Greenwood’s introduction, coupled with some impressive passages between Shayla and Stacey Blair, Maddy Egan, Gina Steel and Lucy Howell, allowed the Bulldogs to take a narrow two-goal lead into half time.
Despite the deficit, Carisbrook had battled into a fruitful position, hoping to crack Avoca with their defensive pressure and capitalise on the other end.
However, with a combined 1000-game experience, Stacey Blair and Howell were beginning to control the midcourt battle, cutting open Carisbrook’s defence with deft lob passes, unstoppable chest passes, and pinpoint bounce passes to Egan and Steel who finished accordingly.
Despite Bilton, Nalder and Macilwain leading an offensive uptick for the Redbacks, Avoca’s attacking quartet were in an unstoppable groove, giving the visitors a seven-goal cushion at three-quarter time.
A 19-goal third term proved to be the appetiser, as the Bulldogs sealed the final result with a sensational scoring spree to begin the fourth quarter.
With Drummond and Patten generating takeaways, Howell carving through the midcourt and Egan and Steel possessing robotic accuracy, Avoca scored 20 goals in the final term to finish a combative win with a flourish.
Egan boosted her lead as A grade’s leading goal scorer with a game-high 42 goals, while Steel converted 22 of her 29 attempts.
While Nalder led the Redbacks with 25 goals, Macilwain was arguably the pick of the shooters for Carisbrook, netting 20 goals with only four misses.
