Canons win tough challenge

Senior AFL Girls Team Thriller

On Wednesday 29 June 29 St Norbert College’s Senior AFL Girls team faced their toughest challenge against SEDA. This school has a strong sporting background so it was going to be difficult, however we were strengthened by having a number of players available and our team was ready to go.

With the bounce of the ball, the contested battle began. Shenae Hartree flew high and guided the ball to our midfielders who were under immediate pressure as a few of their stronger players exerted themselves as we knew they would. Zeta Stevens got involved early and was a great addition to the team along with Subeedha Rijal who took some good grabs throughout the game.

The opposition knew they had to put some time into our mids which meant some of our players were in for a long afternoon. Captain Chloe Reilly was always ‘under the pump’ as she tried her best to get the ball towards our goals. SEDA knew that Chloe had to be stopped to give them their best chance of a win. Paige Craven-Bower worked hard all game and Ivy Harding pushed herself to continue getting the ball to give us our best chance.

We were against a breeze in the first half so the backs did well to repel a constant barrage. Nicole Dobkowski played across the halfback line and made the SEDA forwards earn every kick with some strong tackling. Lauchantae Eades was moved to the back pocket this game with great success as her tackling and ability to read the ball was excellent and she was well-supported by Lauren Verbeist. Charlie Pollard and Jacinta Barraza put pressure on the opposition and Caitlin Spiegl showed her determination to ensure the SEDA two goal lead was kept attainable for the second half.

The second half began well for SNC with a couple of goals. The pressure from Paige, Ivy and Chloe was creating us with more opportunities. Olivia Bell was working hard, showing her skills and determination when it counted. Summer Pollard and Ella Reilly started to get more of the ball and their trademark hard tackling helped us get back the lead. SEDA weren’t about to give up though and put our backs under a lot of pressure bombing the ball into the forward 50. This time, however, Glenda Cornwell decided she would take control of the game with a couple of big marks under pressure. With Amber O’Donoghue playing unmarked she helped to ensure their scoring opportunities were limited.

When the siren sounded, the jubilant squeal of super-manager Ms Kyd could be heard. The SNC senior girls’ team had won by five points and it was well-deserved. Akeelah Mayhew and Jacinta Geary-Dodsley must be commended for taking on the challenge to play with SEDA and probably played too well!

Our successes of this season has guided us to our next challenge. On Tuesday,  June 11 we will play in a qualifying final against Ellenbrook College at Queens Park Oval at 4pm. The winner of this match will progress to the Quarter Finals to play Eastern Hills the following week. Please come down and support our AFLW team in what should be a great game.

Mr B McGrath (Coach)