Luv A Duck Women’s Match Preview: Royals Renew Rivalry with Bulleen
The Essendon Royals will look to continue their successful streak as Bulleen’s ‘bogey side’ when the reigning minor premiers visit Cross Keys Reserve on Saturday afternoon.
Vince Battiato’s newly-promoted team stunned the NPLW giants not once, but twice last season. The Lions were comfortable favourites in Round 1 at the Veneto Club, but Audrey Oastler set the cat among the pigeons with a brilliantly taken opener in first-half stoppage time.
Essendon doubled the lead on the hour mark as Ava Groba sprinted from inside her own half to finish past the onrushing goalkeeper, and the Royals held on for a famous 2-1 win.
The Royals were a known quantity by the time Bulleen came to Cross Keys in Round 12, but that didn’t stop the home side from pulling off another famous win. Both sides threatened in a tense affair, but Julia Sardo was the hero, latching onto Reona Omiya’s looping cross to the back post and producing a stunning finish from an acute angle.
Bulleen would go on to lift the NIKE FC Cup and minor premiership, but out of all the teams in the Victorian top flight this season, Essendon remains the one scalp that eludes them.
Both sides have suffered rocky starts to 2025, with Bulleen sitting 7th, just two points clear of Essendon in 10th. Caitlin Friend’s charges began brightly with wins over Box Hill and Spring Hills, before suffering successive home defeats against Preston and Alamein.
Bulleen finished with 10 players on the pitch in both defeats – substitute Grace Cagnina was dismissed for a flying lunge against Preston with 25 minutes to play, while Cat Renehan was sent off in the 90th minute against Alamein for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Cagnina returns in time to face Essendon, while Renehan will serve a one-week suspension.
The Royals, meanwhile, will be licking their wounds after a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Preston that perhaps didn’t reflect the balance of play. Essendon took the lead early after Groba finished off a slick team move at the back post and should have built on their advantage, but some outstanding goalkeeping from Preston’s Sophie Dehne kept the visitors in the game.
While the result may not have fallen in Essendon’s favour, there are still plenty of positives for Battiato’s side to build on ahead of a huge fixture on Saturday.
Kick-off is set for 3:00 PM at Cross Keys Reserve, with the Under-20s getting proceedings underway at 12:30 PM.
Come down and support our senior women in the NPLW’s newest rivalry – let’s keep the streak going!