Sport
23 June, 2026
Saints survive Eagles second half comeback
A clinical first half has allowed Trentham to stave off an outstanding Dunolly come-back and leave Deledio Reserve with a vital 47-42 victory.
After being noticeably absent in the Saints’ narrow round nine loss to Talbot, star shooter Hannah Weier made a triumphant return to help give the visitors a 14-goal half time advantage that seemed insur-mountable.
However, powered by several bold decisions from player-coach Lara Clements and a pair of young guns catching fire under the net, the Eagles quickly pecked away at the deficit, trailing by just six goals early in the fourth quarter.
As the Eagles’ talons drew closer to an improbable comeback, Trentham superstar Jessica Walker led a late defensive shutdown that pushed the sixth-placed Saints level on points with their round 11 opponents, Lexton.
Weier was causing immediate problems for a Dunolly defensive unit hampered by the absence of key contributor Teagan Hovey, who was taken off midway through the opening term and did not return.
While MCDFNL 15 and under representative Mia Schodde did a commendable job after being thrown into the fire in Hovey’s absence, Weier was providing a dependable aerial target for her teammates.
With the versatile Stevie Courtney and co-captain Madelyne Brennan doing a commendable job limiting Dunolly’s scoring output despite the shooting of Clements and Hannah Kenny, the Saints entered quarter time up by five.
Trentham’s offence continued to dazzle after the interval, as Amy Vandenham, Charli Copeland and Sharna Ford routinely found Weier in the goal circle.
Weier’s efficiency emboldened Clements to move herself out of goal attack, where she scored nine of her first 10 shooting attempts, and into goal defence.
While Clements’ presence noticeably cooled the Saints’ scorching offence, Dunolly was missing her in attack as they reached half-time trailing 32-18.
Needing a minor miracle to salvage a victory, Clements placed trust in Dunolly’s emerging juniors to provide an offensive jolt.
Following a short shooting stint in the second quarter, Mia Schodde provided a glimmer of hope for the Eagles, showing a near telepathic connection with her mother, Melanie Schodde, and Charlotte Liddicoat as she went a perfect four for four under the ring.
Walker was doing everything she could to slow a suddenly emboldened Dunolly, but a string of offensive miscues saw Trentham’s once stable lead begin to crumble.
Mia Schodde’s pinpoint accuracy quickly became contagious, as Chloe Goodwin came on for Mia midway through the third period and immediately found her range.
In the space of 15 minutes, the Eagles had slashed their deficit to eight goals thanks to a 14-8 third term and had all the momentum.
While Dunolly stayed pat with their lineup, Trentham scrambled for solutions, moving Courtney into a wing attack platoon with Copeland and Ford while Kerrie Brennan stepped into goal defence.
As the Eagles belief continued to grow, the hosts quickly brought the margin down to six.
However, Dunolly’s perfect storm began to slowly lose steam at the worst possible time, as several missed chances at goal turned into Trentham counterattacks.
Despite being held to 15 goals in the second half by Clements and Ashlee Lierich, the Saints did enough to secure a valuable four points.
Weier produced an electrifying return at Deledio Reserve, finishing with a game-high 39 goals alongside Ford, who added eight.
Kenny was a stable source of goals for the Eagles with 20 makes, complementing deadly cameos from Clements (nine goals), Goodwin (nine), and Mia Schodde (four).