Warrandyte Women in historic debut decider

by JOSH HUNTLY
7th September 2026

A GALLANT debut appearance on grand final day didn’t deliver the silverware Warrandyte’s Senior Women were after.
But it certainly delivered an even bigger cohort of fans after a hell-bent Bloods gave it everything at H.E Parker Reserve in the Division Four Women’s decider.
Warrandyte had bested Boronia by eight points in the preceding week’s Preliminary Final, but Grand Final opponent Wantirna South came in favourites after defeating the Bloods in their previous two meetings — by 44 points in Round 14 and then by more than 10 goals in the Qualifying Final.
In the first 10 minutes, that billing counted for nothing as Warrandyte caught the Devils on the jump.
Eden Carruthers handed Warrandyte the perfect start with the opening two goals of the game, sharking a ground ball in close before snapping on the run, and when Ava Radle’s kick found Chelsea Constable running into goal, a coolly converted opportunity saw the Bloods take a three-goal lead.
Two late goals to Wantirna South made it four points the difference at quarter-time, and the early momentum belonged to the Devils in the early stages of the second.
The back six repelled wave after wave, led by some gritty defensive work from Eilish Vaughan and multiple intercepts from Channelle Vitiritti, but the Devils managed to convert twice to retake the lead, a nine-point buffer at half-time.
Jade McCormack elevated her game in the midfield to another level alongside midfield compatriots Meg Callow and Zara Vitiritti, to wrestle back the ascendancy to start the second half, capitalising through Carruthers once again for her third goal of the day.
The ball whizzed around the reserve for the next 15 minutes before the Devils stole a major back on the stroke of three-quarter-time, Warrandyte’s equation equalling out to seven points as coach Lachlan Richardson made an impassioned plea for one more effort.
Needing an all-important first goal of the final quarter, the Bloods went forward on numerous occasions before a footrace to the goal-line was won by Taya Davies, taking her moment with a left-foot soccer from an acute angle to send the Warrandyte contingent behind the goals into raptures and trim the margin back to two points.
It would be the Devils with the final two goals of the game, however, to take the grand final by 13 points, bringing the curtain down on an excellent campaign for the Warrandyte women.

Warrandyte 5.3 (33)
def by
Wantirna South 7.4 (46)

Best: Eden Carruthers,
Jade McCormack, Meg Callow, Chanelle Vitiritti, Raegan Craggs, Zara Vitiritti

Goalkickers: Eden Carruthers 3,
Taya Davies, Chelsea Constable