AFLW Competition 

SNC v Belmont 

We often talk of the Holy Spirit being amongst us during Mass or in Religious Education classes but on Tuesday afternoon the St Norbert College Senior AFLW team showed they had ‘spirit’ when they fought back from being two goals behind to win a classic game of footy.

The win was best summarised when our bruised, battered and exhausted Captain Chloe Reilly limped off the ground and said to me ‘how did we do that….?. She wasn’t alone in the ‘exhausted stakes’, and as the girls walked off celebrating, I was surprised they could muster the energy after being tackled, hit, jumper-punched whilst chasing, fighting for the ball and helping their team mates to turn our half time deficit into a win.

We started slowly which wasn’t part of our pre-game plan. The Belmont girls showed early-on they were at Queens Park oval to win the game and their previous results showed they had the ability to do that. Our start was rather ‘Dockeresque’ with the points being scored too easily and a number of marks being dropped in our forward line which made for quick rebound goals for the Belmont crew and they took a 4.4 to 2.4 lead into half time.

Our half time break was used to gather some composure, get some energy back in (thanks to the Snakes from Bec) and to talk about a recovery plan to get us back into the match and keep our hopes alive of playing in the zone finals. Our Captain Courageous made a very clear and decisive decision as she grabbed the magnet with her name on it, moved it out of the middle and said ‘I’ll play in the forward line, get the ball to me and I’ll do the rest’, and she did!!

With Zeta Stevens fighting as hard as she always does in the ruck, playing through an injury, we managed to win more of the ball. Ella Hackett went ‘next-level’ after being hurt a couple of times through some rough play and started to win the ball in the centre and Lachauntae Eades put her natural skills on display with a couple of great runs and some tough tackling which stopped some Belmont girls in their tracks. Our Year 8 wingers Sophie Eaton and Myla Norling showed they are valuable additions to this team with some persistent tackling, hard running and supportive play.

Our backs took on some advice on how to play against this skilful and fast running team. Ella ‘The General’ Reilly was reading the play well and gave us some great run off the half-back line, whilst Chloe Miller and her ‘partner in crime’ Cass Marciano started to steal the ball off their forwards who were now under more pressure as we had worked out their game plan.  Summer Pollard had decided she would ‘take no prisoners’ and tackled one opposition after another, getting ‘under their skin’ taking their focus away from the ball (and onto her) which Summer didn’t seem to mind at all.

The forward line was where the biggest change came and the goals followed. Courtney Fitzgerald showed her ability to read the play and provide options for Akeelah Mayhew and Kyla Shepherd who displayed some smart offensive footy, not over-committing to tackle and waiting for the ball to come out and pouncing on their opportunities to give us our chances to put the ball between the ‘big sticks’. Glenda Cornwall could not be held-down by their strong and hard-running full back all game and proved her worth with a goal and so did Ella Hackett. With the game on the line in the second half it was Chloe Reilly who showed class and amazing kicking by finishing the game with 6 goals and the final score SNC 8.5 (53) to Belmont 5.4 (34).

It was great to have Gaelle Mootoo play her first game for SNC and played a ‘cameo appearance’ in the second half, getting a quick possession (to the roar of the crowd!!) which proved important so our girls to have a rest on the bench. Marion Kipchumba again proved to be strong and her ‘rugby-like’ tackling skills helped slow down a couple of the Belmont girls in the second half.

Watching the girls celebrate their ‘spirited’ win was a delightful moment and it was great to have a crowd there to support. Parents, brothers and sisters, classmates and teachers all got to enjoy what it means to play sport, to face some strong challenges, to ‘give back as good as you got’ and to finish a tough game by shaking the hand the opposition team showing respect and sportsmanship as wonderful examples of the St Norbert College community….

Thanks to Ms Isard for your help with organising the team, to our goal umpires Declan Power and Tyson Shepherd and to Paige Craven-Bower who helped run the water. We wait to hear who our next challenge is in the competition and we’ll continue to work towards having our full squad available to give us our best chance of going deep into the finals. 

QF v St Brigid’s

It’s fair to say we started slow, found some ‘mongrel’ just before half time and then showed the oppo what we were made of with a ‘gritty’ second half performance that took us to an 8.4 (52) to 3.3 (21) win. A very pleasing team effort that was enjoyed by the players and spectators which included numerous school mates, family, friends and teachers…

We knew the St Brigid’s girls were going to put forward a strong effort and they did. They had run, good skills and strategy but they didn’t have a Chloe Reilly who booted four goals in a hurry before having to race off to State training. She wanted to ‘do her bit’ as Captain for the ‘bigger picture’ and a possible AFLW draft opportunity comes her way, so we were very grateful for her efforts. 

At half time the Canon’s team were challenged to ‘step up’, realising that every player needed to improve their performance to make up for what was driving away from us, and they did. Ella Reilly was now Captain and she showed her leadership to organise the team and run until she was exhausted. Shenae Hartree was able to play her first game of 2021 in the ruck, fresh from a basketball game, (she cramped before the game) but put in a huge performance running out the game with her skills improving by the minute. Zeta Stevens again showed that she’s a ‘competitive beast’, running, chasing, tackling and doing one of the best smothers I have seen for years; it was ‘Fyfie-like’!!!

When the ‘going gets tough, the tough get going’ and so the trade-mark loud calls for the footy from one of our toughest Ella Hackett started and Summer Pollard joined in with some of her tackles that ‘took the spring’ out the opposition players step very quickly… Sophie Eaton continues to improve every game and showed she is a Year 8 that can match it with the seniors having a ‘purple patch’ when it seemed like she had 10 possessions in a matter of minutes which showed the girls we were in to fight this game out!!

Our senior girls displayed what it meant to play for your mates and how hard you can play when you’re wearing the same-coloured jumper!!! Chloe Miller was the ‘General’ down back this week and found herself, by herself, with opposition players around her, on a couple of occasions. She generally took the mark to stifle their efforts or fought hard with Cassandra ‘don’t mess with me or me mates’ Marciano who plays like a warrior to have their forwards ‘jumping at shadows’. Marion Kipchumba showed she didn’t want to miss out on the fun and made up for what she doesn’t possess in AFL skill (in only her 3rd game) with an amazing ‘ball and all’ Rugby Union style tackle to the roar of the crowd, almost sending the St Brigid’s girl ‘back to last week’; fair and team-lifting!!! Jacinta Barraza continued to entertain herself as she enjoyed laughing, offering commentary and tackling anything with or without the ball in the opposition jumper. When run and skill was needed Lachauntae Eades was always there to take marks, sprint with the ball and provide some ‘dazzle’ with her untapped talent. 

With our goal-scoring Captain gone we needed someone to get our team over the line; enter Paige Craven-Bower. Paige is an excellent athlete who possesses amazing AFL skills which we finally got a chance to see ‘present’ themselves under some duress and with the opportunity to lead the team to victory. She started taking marks around the ground, booting the ball effortlessly and snapping two goals like we were watching ‘JK’ on a Sunday evening at Optus Stadium!!! Great to have her back in the team and showing us what she’s capable of.

Our forwards were able to keep the pressure on and subsequently the ball tended to stay in our forward 50 for some time. Kyla Shepherd showed her skills, game sense and willingness to fight for the team and Glenda Cornwall couldn’t be stopped, adding another goal to her tally. Akeelah Mayhew epitomised the efforts of the Canon’s when she fought hard for the ball, took a head-knock which resulted in a late goal which was just what the team needed.. Courtney Fitzgerald made her mark as one of the forwards scoring 1 goal but was moved to defence to ‘sure up’ some run and to help lock-down the game.

It was again great to see the spirit amongst the team at the end of the game. The sense of accomplishment is collectively exhibited through the chat, sharing of stories, laughter, showing off of ‘shiners’ (Ella Hackett), high-fives and the smiles on faces. There will be bruises and scratches been shown-off again in the morning no-doubt, but it is all part of pulling on a St Norbert jumper, having fun, accepting the challenge, sticking up for your mates and doing your College proud!!!!

We move into the semi-finals next week where we will play either SEDA or Fremantle College. We had one player on the bench throughout most of the game today so we need a few girls to come back or to join the team to give us some options for our next challenge. If we win our semi then the GF will be our chance to claim the trophy for the first time and to play in a possible curtain-raiser. 

Mr B McGrath

Coach