The Purples were forced to overcome a dogged Tatura outfit at the Kennel in Friday evening’s round three Goulburn Murray Women & Girls action, but a third-quarter surge secured a vital four points to open the 2026 account.
A low-scoring opening half saw the Purples lead a gallant Bulldogs 1.1 (7) to five behinds at the main break, but three goals to Abby Favaro and a standard-setting performance from skipper Alex Mulcahy saw Nathalia lift the tempo in the premiership quarter, booting four goals to Tatura’s no score.
The Bulldogs finally found the big sticks through Maddy Andronaco but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Purples picking up a 5.4 (34) to 1.5 (11) victory.
Courtney Ladgrove and Marni Bell were influential for Nathalia while Sarah Lange-Richards and Courtney Smith battled admirably for a Tatura side coming off a long-awaited win.
Meanwhile, reigning premiers Shepparton United have scarcely been challenged so far this season, but the Demons didn’t have it all their own way against Mansfield at Deakin Reserve.
Both sides struggled to bother the scorers in the first quarter before the Dees began peppering away in the second, getting their game plan flowing but unable to put the Eagles to the sword with 1.5 (11), while Mansfield made the most of their limited chances with a major to stay within three points at the main break.
United finally broke free in the third quarter with three goals – spearheaded by skipper Emily Zampaglione with two – while Paige Baksh, Areaka Bamblett, and Charli Guppy put the finishing touches on the 5.9 (39) to 3.1 (19) win to notch the club its third win on the spin.
Meanwhile, Cobram gave the Shepparton Swans no such window to challenge it in a 113-point win at Scott Oval.
Charlotte Artavilla-Bennett booted one of the league’s bigger hauls in recent times with eight majors to draw level with Baksh atop the league goal-kicking, while Sasha Parish (five goals) and Maree Stephenson stood up to hand the Tigers their second win of the season.
Rumbalara made the road-trip north to face Moama but were unable to quell the Pies, who claimed an 84-point triumph.
In the Youth Girls competition, Phoebe Hawker’s five-goal haul propelled the Shepparton Swans to a comfortable win against Cobram to remain undefeated.
Moama mirrored that result against Nathalia, ending round four second on the ladder.
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