Football
20 May, 2026
Laharum opens season with statement win
Laharum quickly quashed Natimuk United’s hopes for a dream debut as they opened the Wimmera Football Netball League women’s football side with an emphatic 14.9 (93) to 0.0 (0) win in round one on Sunday, May 17.
Playing at Cameron Oval, forward Violet McGennisken quickly opened the scoring for the Demons, kicking a goal two minutes into the game.
Additional goals to Poppy Peters and Charlotte Laudner saw Laharum take a 20-0 quarter-time lead.
The home side continued to win the ball in and around the contest and effectively moved the ball up the field, scoring five second-term goals while nullifying Natimuk’s chances going forward.
The Rams offered increased resistance early in the third quarter, but Laharum continued to dominate possession and territory.
The Demons scored three goals in each of the final two quarters to finish with the 93-point win.
Youngsters Violet McGennisken, Poppy Peters and Greta Arnel were superb for Laharum, with McGennisken and Peters kicking four and three goals, respectively.
Hailey Puls, Jess Cannane and Catherine O’Dea also had impactful games in the middle of the field.
For Natimuk, Christine Oliver, Kellsie Turner, Bella Hardy, Dimity Birch, Jacqui Altus, and Julia Rich were the side’s best on the field.
Laharum captain Jess Cannane said it was pleasing to see the team’s hard preseason work come to fruition in the opening round.
“It feels good to be back playing footy, even to be able to come out and play the style of footy that we've been talking about in preseason,” she said.
“It was really, really pleasing.
“We've got some ball winners in the middle, and right from the very first bounce, we made sure we had our head over the footy, and got first usage of it.”
The Demons skipper lauded her side’s physicality, admitting the team did their job all across the park.
“We knew it was gonna be pretty wet and muddy out there, and we're on the shorter side, so we had to use a fair bit of our body and make sure that we were at the bottom of the contest, and then use all the benefits of our speed,” Cannane said.
“It's really hard to do when the ground is boggy and muddy, and the footy is heavy, but I think we made sure we put our body in first, and gave our mids and even our wingers and forward line first use of the footy, and managed to put that onto the scoreboard.
“I thought our defensive pressure was really, really good, which meant that we could lock it in and just keep continuing to build that pressure, which meant that we could capitalise on the scoreboard.”
In the under 15.5 girls competition, Horsham proved too strong for Laharum, coming away with a 12.6 (78) to 4.2 (26) victory.
Indigo Pope was a standout in the opening round victory, finishing with six goals.