Goodlife Round 5 Women’s Match Report V Sturt

Hunting our third win of the season, we headed into the match a bit unsure of what to expect with five changes a piece on the back of injuries and the U19 State Game.

The first half was somewhat of an arm wrestle with both teams getting plenty of entries for no majors. Renee Forth and Nicole Collie were strong down back, whilst Kiana Lee starting getting her hands on ball through the middle in the Ruck. We were able to string some nice plays together but a lack of structure lead to wayward entries and easy turnovers. Lee slotted the first major of the game half way through the second quarter to settle us and give us the lead heading into half time.

We moved into the third quarter with a clear focus on winning the footy. Contested possessions were close however our first-to-it focus, led by youngster Marlie Fiegert and hard-nut Kiana Del Borrello, allowed us to take over in hard ball gets and maintain control of the ball. We goaled early through Jess Sedunary to push our lead out before Sturt were able to kick their first through Amy Brooks.

In the last Jess Sedunary was again able to hit the scoreboard early, stretching our lead. A well roved ball to Chloe Forby allowed her to goal for the Blues midway through the quarter after being held quiet by first year Eagle Audrey Holt, pinning our lead back to 3 points. The final minutes of the quarter saw us hold the ball in our FWD 50, pressuring Sturt into turn overs when they were able to exit. Nicole Collie took a game saving mark on the half back late and Jovanka Zecevic stood tall late when challenged.

Sophie Zuill and Chloe Whitington-Charity worked hard on the wings all day, assisting in the defence and providing run and carry on the outside, while Annie Falkenberg again put together a strong captains performance.

Our win places us third on the ladder, we face an in form top of the table Norwood at Adelaide Oval this week – we would love to see you there supporting us.

Tess Baxter
Women’s Coach