Round 17 Match Reports (2026)

The La Trobe Senior Women returned home for their penultimate match of the 2026 season, taking on premiership contender Power House for a 9:20 am start.

The pre-game pitch report got a pass mark from head coach Sam Greene, as conditions were pleasant enough for good quality football.

It was Power House who came out of the gates the quickest, as they were able to gain territory and put points on the board. The visitors were the more proactive side in addition to having some assistance from the breeze, taking a 17-point lead into the first break.

To La Trobe’s credit, they managed the back end of the quarter well and took time off the clock when they had the opportunity.

The 2^nd Quarter saw a response from the Trobers through winning the ground balls and surging the ball forward. However, the Power House defence was resilient, and they were also able to transition the ball from coast-to-coast and kick a goal with under 3 minutes left in the half. The late goal was the sole major of the quarter, with La Trobe trailing 2 to 23 at half time.

There was some unfortunate news at half time, as former captain Teresa D’Angelo was ruled out with a nasty cut and hit to the nose. Hopefully there’s no damage and Swifty has a quick recovery!

The start to the 2^nd half was going to test La Trobe, as they were reduced to 17 players as well as competing against the breeze. Power House won the 3^rd quarter convincingly, and had multiple moments of class inside 50, kicking 4 goals to none and taking a 46-point margin into the final term.

The messaging at 3QT was positive, with one goal in mind – to win the last quarter. It wasn’t going to be easy, as Monica Toscano was ruled out with knee soreness, limiting La Trobe to 16 players to finish the match.

With nothing on the line, La Trobe had no right to compete in the last but dug deep and fought terrifically. Some good forward half dominance led to an opportunity to Steph Castagnini, who put through a classy finish to get La Trobe their first on the day. It was a well-deserved goal for Casta, who put together another brave, tough, and elite performance.

Despite conceding the last goal of the game, La Trobe was able to win the last quarter. Although the scoreboard might not look pretty, the effort and the intensity of the performance can’t be questioned.

Tara Chetcuti undoubtedly had her best performance since joining the club in the off-season, as she played a critical role in defence. Taz displayed a great ability to read the play and used the ball efficiently when coming out of defence.

Jess Lowry had an enormous performance in the ruck, competing well around stoppages, and taking intercept marks in all areas of the ground. Claire Wilson was another who battled well around stoppage, and had some nice link up play moments with multiple different teammates on the day.

Thara Sar was awesome in the backline, and it is evident she is growing in confidence with her new role in defence. Thara’s pressure and speed were through the roof, and she was also effective in defending the air too.

Matilda Wilson might be the tallest in the side, but her tackling was fierce and relentless. Tilly’s physicality is hard to match, and she bailed the side out on multiple occasions with some nice clunks when coming out of defence.

Next week marks the final game of the season for the La Trobe Senior Women, who will be looking to respond from their earlier performance this season against Ormond. Hopefully there’ll be some handy inclusions into the side next week, as well as some great support to celebrate the milestones of Kaitlyn Ritchie, Nat Cappelletti, and Ella Lauritsen.