A stellar first half allowed Carisbrook to dictate the pace of play, eventually finishing off their home-and-away campaign with a 20-goal victory over Trentham at Trentham Reserve.
The win locks Carisbrook into fourth position, where they will eagerly await one of Avoca or Natte Bealiba in a qualifying final showdown, while Trentham must defeat Maldon and hope that Campbells Creek defeat Newstead by a sufficient margin to reprise a finals appearance.
It was all Carisbrook in the first term as they dominated play, not giving an inch to the Trentham midcourt as they swarmed at every opportunity. That allowed Paige McLean and Abbey Nalder to get many chances at goal, which McLean, in particular, delivered, scoring 13 of Carisbrook’s 15 goals for the term to help the Redbacks lead by 10 goals at the first change.
Nalder added two goals for the Redbacks, while Jacqui Bell scored four and Zahlia Turton one for the Saints.
The second quarter was again much of the same, but this time, it was Nalder who was making the most of her chances in front of goal, with Carisbrook adding another 15 goals to eight from the Saints to extend their lead to 17 goals by half time, leading 30-13. Nalder scored 11 goals, while McLean scored four for Carisbrook, and for the Saints, Bell scored seven times and Turton once.
The game tightened up in the third quarter, with scoring becoming harder to come by, but Carisbrook continued to extend their lead by scoring 10 goals to nine to lead 40-22 at the final change. Nalder scored seven goals and McLean three for the Redbacks, while for Trentham, Bell scored seven times and Turton twice.
With both teams effectively playing out time, Carisbrook managed to win all four quarters by scoring 12 goals to 10 in the last to take a comfortable win ahead of the final bye of the season. Nalder and McLean finished off an even day across the board with six goals apiece to finish with 26 each for Carisbrook, while for the Saints, Bell finished off with seven goals to end up on 25 for the day, with Turton adding three goals.