It was a massive day for OFC, and the Warburton-Millgrove community on Saturday with non stop football and netball action in brilliant sunshine from 9.00am to 4.30pm.

Meantime there are some potential League changes coming down the line which could impact us as early as 2027. There was a meeting of League presidents on Monday night and here are the take aways-

So AFL fans who watched the post match interviews last Thursday night ( and we suspect many had turned off by then) would have noticed the Geelong players attributing their late season revival to the strength of their unbeaten VFL team.

Miers and Walpole spent a month and a half in the VFL and Wiltshire and Polkinghorn have emerged from the Twos as ready made Senior players. It’s about depth of talent.

There’s a similar story to tell at OFC where a large group of guys expected to play some role in the finals are missing- Blair Wilson (injured), Frank Seal (injured), Zach Seal (cricket carnival), Lachie Meadows (travelling), Dylan Troutman (not available). Isaac Tonkin (injured first quarter)- and yet we barely missed a beat as we took the chocolates at Warburton.

Clearly OFC has a very sharp pointy end with some elite players leading the team, but it’s the club’s depth of talent that rounds us off. We had to make three changes this week with Ethan Greenall, Bon Sullivan and Gus Nelson called up from the Twos and fitting in seemlessly .

Gus kicked two goals and we’ve seen enough of this powerful young forward to suspect that his best footy is in front of him. In Bon’s case we KNOW his best footy is still to come. For two years now we’ve been talking about his “footy smarts” and his willingness to take on the contest, as he gets bigger and stronger he’s going to be real handfull.

Botchy Greenall was the third player called up after a one week stint in the Twos where his experience and class stood out like the Channel 10 tower when there’s a low fog. This week he got better as the game progressed and dominated the last quarter.

OK, credit to Warbie who stayed in the match for long stretches, as we suspected they would. They’ve retained the core group of players, and the spirit, which took them to a Div. 1 flag last year.

But given the number of inside 50s we enjoyed and the 32 shots on goal we felt the victory should realistically been closer to 10 goals than the 42 point margin we finished with.

The ball delivery to the forwards, particularly in the first half, was so erratic at times we are surprised Horse has got any hair left. Is that a bit harsh given our seven goal win? Maybe, we’ll know more next month.

Our take aways-

BEST PLAYERS

Matthew Scharenberg, Percy Hyett, Bon Sullivan, Ethan Greenall, Lachlan Boyd, Anthony Giacobbe

Our first thought about the Twos this week was a sentence that contains the words “foot” and “shot”.

After gallantly dispensing of the top five clubs (other than MtEv) over the last month and to then lose to a team which had won only four games was a tad disappointing. Even more so when finals are on the line!

However lets give the loss some context, our three best players had been called up by the Ones and we were caught a bit short against a physically strong and highly motivated opponent. Once Warbi got a sniff they were always going to be a handfull.

On the plus side ( and there’s a really big “plus” we’ll get to shortly) Goldy dominated the ruck in possibly his most complete performance of the season, Jack won just about every contest he was involved in and BS Edwards brought class and strength to every clash.

Leroy finished with three goals, but only two were paid! The disallowed major was so clearly a goal the scorers put it up but then had to remove it.

Tommy Higgins had a stand out match and is the best kick in the team (and one of the best in the whole club) while, crucially, Cass Hine and Mitch Low were strong overhead. It’s good to see Mitchy clunking a few.

Harry dominated his wing as the match wore on and almost turned it our way in the last 20 minutes.

Some negatives, and they need to be said. Why do blokes argue with the umpires after a decision has been given? We are trying to think of an upside to that tactic but nothing is coming to mind. Was it three or four times we gave away extra metres on Saturday?

And, this one really hurts us, some guys make the exact same mistakes each and every week and turn the pill over. Guys it’s time to refine the way you play, although England bowler Stuart Broad could have put a paper bag over his head and still got Dave Warner out every Test match, so I guess some lessons just can’t be learned.

So- we said there was a big plus about Saturday and this is it- we are still in fifth place! We’re off to Healesville this week where it’s crucial we embrace the need for speed.

BEST PLAYERS

Mitch Low, Tom Higgins, Harrison Nitschinsk, Darcy Falkner, Ryan Goldberg, Brodie Clark

Last Saturday at Warbie was a little weird in as much as we beat our opponents by 10 goals but some players/parents we talked to were a bit underwhelmed.

This possibly speaks to the fact that things haven’t fallen our way this season, in terms of player availability and other factors, and we are eighth on the ladder, a position many in this team are unaccustomed to.

The irrepressible Jett Boote kicked five goals (if you haven’t watched our very own Wizard go about his work be sure to keep an eye on #44) and Lukey Clifford kicked three. We can’t speak highy enough of the way Luke has gone about his work since joining us last season, he’s certainly got a lot of the senior boys talking.

Before we hear from coach Scotty Tonkin please note-if you rock up at Healesville next Saturday morning to watch the boys play you’ll have an hour drive ahead of you. They are playing at Alexander! Knowing Scott and the crew they’ll make something special out of the trip.

From the desk of coach Scotty-

Under clear skies and chilly conditions, the boys got to work early to produce a really strong first quarter and set up a comfortable 10 goal win.

Rio Neish set the tone early with his ruck work and Lachie Tonkin seemed to be involved in every play racking up plenty of football. Lenny Barry continued to feed the ball out from contest, and it was great to see the livewire Jett Boote back playing kicking a lazy 5 goals from a forward pocket. Lenny Pritchard continues to development with another strong game in defence. Another good performance from the boys.

BEST PLAYERS

Lachlan Tonkin, Luke Clifford, Lennix Barry, Rio Neish, Jett Boote, Leonard Pritchard

Olinda Women’s season drew to a close Saturday morning, going down to 2^nd placed heavyweights Warburton/Wesburn 1.1.7 to 5.9.39.

 Warby are a seriously good side, and are a genuine threat to Mt Evelyn’s chances of going back to back this year.

Bigger, stronger, faster and more skilful than their Olinda counterparts( at least on Saturday ), they were never threatened by the visitors, although to Olinda’s credit, they won the last quarter , and only lost the second half by 6 points.

Olinda’s will to fight to the very end is very encouraging, and is a great insight into the side’s character. 

With little riding on the result other than pride, the game became the battle of 2 forwards. Being the last game of the season, the game began with Warby forward Scarlett Henderson 3 goals ahead of our own Olivia(The Weapon!)Edwards on the League goal kicking table. I would like to put this into context on behalf of our Liv. Liv’s eventual total of 30 goals is 61% of Olinda’s goal tally of 49 for the year. Henderson’s eventual goal tally of 33 is 34% of Warby’s goal tally of 96 for the year.

Olinda’s next highest goal scorers had 4 goals, Warby had 3 above that number, one player with 20 goals and another with 11. Olinda had games such as Round 4 vs Mt Evelyn where the ball only entered the forward 50 twice.

The point here is that Henderson had at least twice the opportunities, surely many more, than our Liv. For Liv to do so much with so little is a testament to her prodigious talent, and she is rightly revered as a superstar of our club. 

Both players were heavily tagged on the day, and scored a goal each, in Liv’s case Olinda’s only goal. 

Scarlett Henderson will remember her Olinda opponent, she will probably have nightmares about her to be honest.

OK-it is incredibly pleasing to write her name in a match report other than to bemoan what the side has lost since her retirement-Lucy(The Boogie Woman)Hilton.

Yes, Luce the Goose was back in the red and white where she belongs for a season cameo, but all are hoping as a precursor for a 2027 comeback.

For those that don’t know the name, Lucy was a massive part of the side’s 2023 Premiership.

The Coaches talk about her often, and how valuable she was that year. Olinda was horrible mid-season, but late in the season got future AFLW players Grace Belloni and Georgia Stubbs back from Eastern , and ruck supremo Chelsea Wilson back from injury. What gets lost is that Lucy also came back from injury and was a massive part of that finals campaign. She formed a formidable duo with then-captain Claire Hyett, and the 2 were contested ball monsters, and repeatedly gang-tackled their opposing midfielders into submission.

So it was on Saturday, when Luce repeatedly threw herself into contests and opponents, and made life hell for Henderson.

The reason why the loss of Lucy (and Claire) has been so acutely felt, is that it has forced current skipper Miss Football Lily(Laser)Carlin to do all the contested inside work. She doesn’t mind, she is elite at it and won the League B&F last year doing it. But Lil is the best field kick in the comp, and is at her most valuable when she’s firing her lasers into the forward line. Having a player like Luce would help in that regard immensely.

The Coaches have worn out the knees on their pants begging Luce to come back in 2027, let’s hope she takes pity and heeds the call!

As an aside, we’re looking at adding the names Chelsea Wilson and Ness Bateman to our round 1 side next year, imagine if we could add the names Lucy Hilton and Maddy Collins to that list?! 

Last shout out as I have to keep my powder dry for the season wrap…..

Somehow, Saturday’s game was the first time Charlotte(Webby)Edwards has been named as BOG for the Bloods on Play HQ. Webbster has had an amazing season, particularly the second half where she’s been dominant.

The past 2 seasons has been the Lily Carlin/Olivia Edwards show, but this year we’ve gone from the big 2 to the big 4 with the addition of star Sky(Rocket)Wilson and the massive rise of Webby.

An absolute ball magnet, a workhorse, smart, tough as nails, and completely fearless, I recently compared her to Hawthorn Legend Robert Dipierdomenico.

She might be due for an upgrade, as there are definite similarities with the best player of the 20^th century, Leigh Matthews.

So much so that Webberlenko even wrapped herself around the point post in the last quarter Saturday. It didn’t break but probably wanted to!!

Not even 20, Webby’s already a crowd favourite, and her continued rise in senior ranks will be a must watch. 

So there’s the mic drop for the last Women’s match report for 2026. Keep an eye out for the season wrap, there are some big plans but I’m definitely NOT hoping to break last year’s record of 6200 words!!

BEST PLAYERS

Charlotte Edwards, Olivia Edwards, Sky Wilson, Lily Carlin, Jacqueline Ring, Lucy Hilton

Well we knew it was an eight point game for us but when it came to the crunch we just didn’t have the troops to go with Warbie.

The Burra’s impressive 15 goal win means they replace us in fifth spot on the ladder. Clearly we are missing our skipper Soph Hennessey who has commitments with the Casey Demons in the VNL finals ( good luck Soph) and is currently unable to lead our girls on Saturdays.

But here’s a couole of upsides for us- Rianne Fraser is back in business (she’s played the last two matches) AND in our run home we play three teams below us on the ladder. So we face a massive game at Healesville this week.

BEST PLAYERS

Mera Pringle, Cheryl Chen, Rianne Fraser

Bloodlines thought this was the pick of the netty games on Saturday.

Yep we lost BUT we gave a team above us on the ladder a massive fright. You could hear the cheering from this game on the other side of the footy ground as OFC tied up the scores at the last break only to fade away in the final quarter.

The Griggster (Millie) was absolutely in everything and guess who was back in the circle??? Mel Thomas was playing her first game since having her second child last year (Alfie is now eight months old). Mel finished the match with a team high 18 goals. Fingers crossed she’ll fit in another game before the end of gthe season.

This group of girls is relatively young. We could be wrong here but it’s possible Sarah Seddon is the most senior member of the group and it doesn’t seem all that long ago Sarah was wearing her netball P Plates.

Lets take the energy we found on Saturday and head to Healesville this week girls and chase down a win!!

BEST PLAYERS

Millie Grigg, Matilda Brewster, Cassandra McCallum

So before this week we were sixth on the ladder playing fifth placed Warburton BUT, and yeS it’s a big but, we were separated by 12 points and 75% so the ladder positions didn’t reflect the true situation.

To some it wasn’t a huge suRprise when they overwhlemed us in the first quarter- it was a blitz we just couldn’t recover from.

Short of numbers Martha X Box and Alivia Nelson had to stay on court after the D Grade game to help out.

It’s tough work at the moment so hats off to skipper Sarah Kennedy and the other leaders who are holding the team together- let’s make a big day of it at Healesville!!

BEST PLAYERS

Molly Jones, Martha Box, Jasmin Donner

Warbe and Olinda have something very important in common that you don’t get at many other grounds, you can watch the footy and the netball from the one vantage point.

So when Bloodlines noticed we were in front at half time and then checked in the last quarter to see the scores locked-together at 17all we went and cheered our girls home. Sadly the move seemed to put them off their game and they scored just two more goals (to Warbie’s fIVE). Our enthusiasm was apparently a bad omen.

Suffice to say OFC was in this match for the entire hour- or at least 58 minutes- until it became clear we weren’t going to bridge the gap.

A shout out to Amy Clyne who’s become a key part of this team in just her first season with us and helped keep us in the game. Congrats and thank you to Gemma Swan who played her first game with us.

Also did you notice Sophie Pringle has a better scoring rate in D Grade than U/17?

BEST PLAYERS

Amy Clyne, Logan Fairweather, Martha Box

It’s been a massively tough season for our girls- we know that and everyone is behind you each and every week.

Giving away vast amounts of experience, and age/size, you are not the first team to be under incredible pressure and you certainly won’t be the last.

Our advice- based on decades of experience- your time will come!!

Keep working hard and you’ll start to notice individual and team improvements. And remember when your turn comes to win big enjoy every moment of it!

BEST PLAYERS

Stephanie Brooks, Zara Nicholson, Pippa Norton

Congrats to Hayley Lourey and the junior crew for a blemish free finals day on Sunday when OFC hosted clubs from around the competition.

A big shout out to “Basil” Wicks from the senior club who spent over two hours raking bark and sticks off the oval and another hour or two marking the lines.

And what a day it was for the locals with three teams in action. Two of them came away with massive wins and are heading to the Grand Final.

U/14 Girls (a combined team with Gembrook) have gone thru to the Big Dance as they continue their undefeated run. A number of star players in this team are already turning senior heads. Check out the key defender Ella Moore- alledgedly she kicks the ball further than Joshy Wallis !!

Tim Francis’s U/14 boys finished the Home and Away season as “Champions”, i.e. undefeated. Can they now beat Healesville in the Grand Final and earn the label “Champions and Premiers 2026”?

Lachie Taylor’s U/16 boys lost their final to the undefeated MtEvelyn and , based on results during the season, are firm favs to battle their way thru to another crack at the Flag favs.

The U/16s travel to Healseville next Sunday- where they’ll play the home team (at Queens Park) in the Prelim. Our U/14 boys also play Healseville next week in the Grand Final at Yarra Glen.

Our U/14 girls will play their Grand Final at Yarra Junction the following week. Good luck everyone !!

STREETS ON FIRE 

The 2026 All-Star competition is contracting with the Women’s and Vets completing their Home&Away seasons.

This means that squads heavy on netball and football talent have an extra 4 weeks to make ground on the competition’s leaders.

That’s squads such as “Rachel’s Streetsmarts” that for the second time in a month sit atop the weekly winners podium.

The Streetsmarts salute this week with BOGs to netballers Millie Grigg and Stephanie Brooks, and a vote getting game to footballer Lachie Boyd.

Can the Streetsmarts make a late run for the grand prize? Sure looks like they’re giving it a nudge!

We know how much work Ben, Carey, Jack, Simon, Sacha, Mera and other club leaders put into keeping the OFC bus on the road, but behind the scenes there are a heap of others who quietly contribute.

Trev Currie probaby heads the list but here’s a few more-

So Parks Victoria has been swayed by local opinion and WON’T be removing the old stone shelter at Olinda Green.

A number of people have advocated keeping the structure with it’s massive brick fire places.

Parks Vic will also be building TWO shelters, and not one as planned. This is the official notice-”Two new shelters will also be constructed, increasing the number of spaces available for visitors, sporting groups and the broader community.”

Work commences in a couple of months.