Cobras come from theclouds to ignite their season

THE feel-good story of the 2025 BFNL season, Bacchus Marsh has taken another big step towards a drought-breaking finals berth.

A stunning nine-goal turnaround in the final quarter of last Saturday’s clash against premiership contenders Redan delivered the Cobras their sixth win of the year.

While they did not move from sixth place, the Cobras moved three games clear of the only other obvious contender East Point in the battle for a top six spot.

A stirring one-goal win – the Cobras’ second by that margin against the Lions this season – has thrust them into another high-stakes clash against Lake Wendouree this Saturday.

The Lakers defeated the Cobras by six goals when they last met in round one.

Bacchus Marsh coach Nichole Gleeson could not contain her excitement over her side’s come-from-behind win over Redan.

The Cobras were staring down the barrel when they trailed by eight goals at three-quarter-time.

But much like Redan did in the final quarter of their previous match against Lake Wendouree, the Cobras overran the Lions with a 15-6 final quarter to claim an epic 38-37 win.

“I could not be prouder of the girls,” Gleeson said.

“Seeing that comeback, I could not have been more impressed.

“To have the same margin from the game we played earlier in the season against Redan and knowing the progression of both sides proved it was a great match.

“There was certainly plenty of fire in the belly to get across the line.”

The last quarter moves of Melissa Prismall out of centre and into wing attack, switching with Kaila Saker, and role swaps for Ally Keating and Ella Logan in defence, paid huge dividends.

Among a lengthy list of contenders, Saiker won the nod as best on court ahead of Keating, who continued her consistent season.

Tipped during pre-season to be improvers after half-a-dozen years without an A-grade win, Gleeson said the season had exceeded expectations, but warned there was still a lot of hard work to be done.

“I did have faith in the girls, but to see what’s happening is amazing,” she said.

“We couldn’t have asked for better results for the club – we really couldn’t.

“It does change things when you hit the court with a winning mindset and not a defeated mindset.

“That was a real game-changer against Redan.”

Adding to the significance of the win, Bacchus Marsh was without one of its keys in defence Eliza Moodie, who will also miss this weekend’s clash against Lake Wendouree.

Gleeson is hoping to carry plenty of momentum into their match against the Lakers, who rebounded from their round nine loss to Redan to defeat Melton by 16 goals.

“It will be interesting to see what the difference will be since the first time we played them,” she said.

“No matter what, I’m confident going forward that the girls will be keen to match up against the top sides.

“I feel we are going into the second half of the season with a stronger connection.”

Other highlights of last weekend’s round of matches included Darley’s 11-goal victory over previously undefeated Sunbury and Sebastopol gaining their second win of the year with a 10-goal win against Ballarat.

Round 10 recap:

Bacchus Marsh 38 defeated Redan 37; Sunbury 47 lost Darley 58; Melton 44 lost to Lake Wendouree 60; Ballarat 31 lost to Sebastopol 41; East Point 46 lost to North Ballarat 71.

Round 11:

Darley v Melton; Lake Wendouree v Bacchus Marsh; North Ballarat v Ballarat; Redan v Sunbury; Sebastopol v East Point.