COACHES REPORT: SANFL Women’s – Round 6

SANFLW – Round 6 – West Adelaide 4.10.34 V Central District 7.4.46

This week we faced off against Central District, a team that, like us, came into the game with two wins and three losses. With both sides evenly matched on the ladder, we knew it was going to be a tight contest.

We welcomed back Rachelle Martin for her first game at West in a few years, which was a great boost for the group.

We won the toss and chose to kick with a slight breeze towards the northern end of Hisense Arena. Early on, we controlled the play in our forward half but struggled to convert that dominance into scoreboard pressure. Against the run of play, Centrals made their first forward entry around the five-minute mark and managed to score a goal. Their pressure lifted from there, and we found ourselves handballing under pressure more than we would’ve liked. Despite several chances, we didn’t score a goal until the final second of the quarter when a quick entry into our forward line saw Nicole Hooper kick truly right on the siren. We went into quarter time three points ahead, though I felt we didn’t make full use of the conditions.

The second quarter was fiercely contested. Centrals struck first and quickly followed up with another, pushing their lead out to 10 points. We fought hard and created some good forward entries but could only manage minor scores. To our credit, we were able to lock down defensively and didn’t allow Central to add to their goal tally for the rest of the term. At halftime, we trailed by nine points—1.5 (11) to 3.2 (20).

During the break, we talked about maintaining composure and moving the ball with more speed to generate better attacking opportunities.

We started the third quarter strongly, keeping the ball in our half, and it paid off early. Just before the three-minute mark, Emma Kilpatrick launched a long bomb from 50 to kick our first goal of the second half, closing the gap to three points. We dominated territory but couldn’t convert our chances. Unfortunately, a turnover just before the 12-minute mark led to Central’s second inside-50 of the quarter—and another goal. Despite continuing to apply strong pressure and creating two more set shots on goal, we could only add behinds and went into the final break still seven points down.

At three-quarter time, we focused on playing to win—staying aggressive and attacking the game. We got the first clearance of the final quarter and pushed forward, but Centrals rebounded quickly to score another goal, extending their lead to 13 points at the four-minute mark. They followed up with another, pushing it out to 20. To our girls’ credit, we didn’t give in. We kept pushing forward and had multiple shots on goal, but again, most resulted in points. Finally, at the 12-minute mark, an intercept mark set up a shot for Lucy Waye, who converted to bring the margin back to 13. We continued to create chances, but the gap proved too much to overcome. Both sides added another goal late, but Central held on to win by 12 points.

Best players for us were Chloe Tonkin in ruck, Lucy Waye up forward. Hannah Button, Ruby Ballard and Zoe Venning, who all played onball.

It felt like another game of missed opportunities. At our best, we’re capable of beating anyone—but we’ve yet to put together a full four-quarter performance. That’s something we’ll be working hard on in the coming weeks. We have a bye this week, with a number of our girls playing in the state game, and then we return to face Sturt at home.

– Bruce Dawes, SANFL Women’s Coach.

Best Players: Chloe Tonkin, Lucy Waye, Hannah Button, Ruby Ballard, Zoe Venning

Goals: Emma Chapman (1.0), Nicole Hooper (1.0), Emma Kilpatrick (1.0), Lucy Waye (1.2)

Next Game: V Sturt, Saturday May 10th, 9:40AM, Hisense Stadium