| WU20 -R8 30 May 2026 Sat - 09:00 am - MKO1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Best PlayersMollie Faehrmann Bree Hirst Maddison Kernaghan Zoe Winn Matilda Brown Nikki O Neill |
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Goal ScorersRachel Price - 3 Ella Gillard - 1 Alayna Dunne - 1 Amber Reveley - 2 Maddison Kernaghan - 6 Nikki O Neill - 1 Bree Hirst - 2 |
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Mike Kenny Oval | 9:00am | Saturday 30th May
Who’d have thought that Mike Kenny Oval top deck could look so good after the astonishing amount of rain we have had, but looked good it did. Posts were embraced by post pads, grass was glistening with morning dew, sulphur-crested cockatoo’s were walking the grounds and all we can do is extend a huge thanks to the behind-the-scenes team that gets us ready at 7am on a Saturday morning, without whom, no game.
A huge thank you to all the girls who came down to support us – just fabulous to see. Whether you were helping on the bench, cheering from the sidelines or plotting the next Scuba TikTok, your support and enthusiasm never go unnoticed.
During the week we wrangled rules, consulted experts, asked random folks off the streets, “can we play these girls?” – AFL Sydney came down with relatively late advice, you can have some players from last week’s WPD named team sheet, but only play off 16…
**Q1 – Discovery**
SWS could only field 14 girls, so a few last-minute magnet changes were made: as we continue to bring this group together, role changes are occurring, finding the best place for each girl to enjoy themselves and grow in the game is a fun challenge to have! With the wet surface came possession roulette, quick and easy control of the footy was a scarcity, alongside a bit of a slip back into “spend before earnt” traits of a few weeks ago. Our midfield supported by a rebound half-back line started to push the ball into our forward 50 and the girls settled into peppering the goals with kicks, resulting in 6 scoring shots to nil.
A huge welcome to another of our NWL pathway girls, Bree Hirst (Breezer), for her first game in 20’s, and straight out of the blocks she showed a wonderful ball magnet talent, and leg drive out of contest, setting a great foundation for ball movement. Sadly another of our midfielders, Jemima, was injured during warm-up – when these two get together at the ball, we’ll have a fearsome on-ball combination… can’t wait!
3 goals 3 saw the quarter wrapped up. Our off-field support crew, Deck (KateH), Sunny (KateC), Donney (Lucy), Muddy (Georgia) to name just four of our Lovely Lightning Ladies were up and about with advice, thoughts and a general focus on doing a Scuba TikTok…..
**Q2 – Soaking up some tough tackling**
SWS are seeking to develop their u20’s as we are, and their access to players may not be as strong as our own. They had some girls with rugby backgrounds, and we had to soak up quite a barrage of strong and tough tackling. We did, and we continued our work at owning the source. Quarter time break saw the girls take ownership of what they needed to do more of, and what they had to stop doing. Without a true Ruck we asked Chardy (Charlotte) to step into the role, and she was legendary, huge props to her for saying yes, and getting it done. New recruit, Dusty (Mollie), was outstanding at the contest, bringing fierce determination and great leadership on the park. Speaking of leadership, Stevie (Maddie), our co-captain put on a lesson on kicking at goal, she was unstoppable, reading the ball drop, going hard at the footy and wheeling and stepping opposition. Eight scoring shots on goal brought the first half to a 7.7-49 to 0.0-0 close
**Half Time – Courage**
Our opposition were tough; tackles were fierce and maybe at times questionable. Our Courage showed through as we settled ourselves during the break, focusing on how we can now try to use the space available to us, think about structure in forward 50, and to use some 45 and 90 (lateral) kicks to open up play, so we were away from the thick of contest. With the turf still slippery we challenged the girls to run, ‘bounce’ (tap on ground), and go again….
**Q3 – Fun, Contest, Structure**
We had a lot of possession and learning is an important part of dominance, what can we practice so we are ready when playing against the Manly’s, SydUni’s and UNSW’s of the world. With our continued peppering of the goals, we looked at our opposition kick out structure and tried to practice it. This is the right time to do that and only a few times were the back line, pushing up and compressing the ground really well, were asked to soak up some pressure. Our very own Cocoa (Matilda) was our rock and foundation for ensuring the ball generally didn’t enter our defensive half, alongside, of course, our half-back line that changed frequently with on field rotations!
The quarter came to a close after another 8 scoring shots on goal, finishing 11.11-77 to 0.0-0.
**Q4 – Closing out the day**
We continued to weather the tackling storm and thankfully ended the game without injury. Our continued pressure saw a few more magnets moved and our very own Nikki jumped into the forward line, not only to assist in the ruck but to snag a goal. Nikki picked off a sublime tap that saw Stevie swoop around the back of the contest, ball in hand and smash off another outstanding kick for a goal. Not to be outdone, Nikki did manage to snag a goal as well. Dispatches must mention one of our quieter and maybe unseen girls, Winnie. Today she was asked to play a bit more of an on-ball role in the midfield and did just deliver, going about her business like a pro!
**Final Result**
The final siren saw the Demons U20s run out 16.15 (111) to 0.0 (0) winners.
While the scoreboard reflected a dominant performance, the true success of the day was the way the girls approached the contest. Against a courageous and physical opponent, they showed resilience, composure and a willingness to keep learning. The willingness to embrace new roles, challenge themselves and continue to work on team structures throughout the match was far more important than the final margin.
**Final Words**
Courage. Composure. Confidence.
Those three words summed up the day. Whether it was girls stepping into unfamiliar positions, absorbing some fierce tackling, supporting teammates from the sidelines or continuing to focus on learning when the game was largely on our terms, this group displayed all three qualities in abundance.
Every week this team continues to grow. Every week the connections get stronger. Every week the girls learn a little more about what they are capable of achieving together.
Train together. Play together. Have fun together.
This is just the beginning.
#BuiltNotBought #NorthwestFooty #ThePlaceYoudRatherBe
