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A
member of the Southern Region women’s side looks to
fire off a handpass as MIDN Jennifer Davitt gives chase
for the Northern Region side during their match at Queanbeyan.
Photo by Ben Caddaye.
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SCOREBOARD
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Match
1, March 26:
Southern Region 10.11(71)
Northern Region 4.7(31)
Match 2, March 28:
Southern Region 13.14(92)
Northern Region 3.5(23) |
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By
Michael Weaver
The
Southern Region women’s Australian football team continued
its dominance against Northern Region in the two women’s
matches at the ADF national championships.
The
Southern team, comprising players from Victoria and NSW, proved
a cut above their Northern counterparts during the two games on
March 26 and 28.
Women’s
coach WO2 Kim Beasland said although numbers were reduced to nine-a-side
games due to many players being unavailable, the talent was definitely
a highlight.
“The
matches were a bit one-sided this year, but the encouraging thing
was the effort shown by the new players,” he said.
“A
lot have just started playing for the first time this year and
two who had not played before were selected in the ADF All-Stars
side.
“Many
of them are going to continue on and maintain and an affiliation
with local clubs.”
Ten
players were selected in the ADF women’s side to compete
at the 2003 National Women’s AFL Championships in Darwin
in June.
WO2
Beasland said a squad of 25 will represent the ADF, with the remainder
to be proven players selected on current performance and ability
with local clubs.
“The
ADF team played off for the finals and four players were chosen
in the All Australian side from last year’s championships,
so we’ll be definitely looking to improve on that again,”
said WO2 Beasland.
The
first game from the ADF nationals saw teams go goal-for-goal until
Southern’s forward line began to dominate after the first
quarter, running away with the match by 40 points.
Game
two saw teams pushed to the limit on a day custom made for the
tall players. Injuries at one stage saw more players coming off
than were on the field, with one player accidentally knocked by
an umpire’s swinging arm while making a signal.
However,
all toughed it out, with Southern’s ability to frequently
win the ball from the centre and set up their forwards being a
deciding factor in the 69-point victory.
Southern
midfielder CPL Emma Hender (Army) was named best on ground for
the two games.
Players
chosen in the ADF national side are: CAPT Rebecca Honey (Army),
CAPT Maggie Chambers (Army), CAPT Dani Glatz (Army), OFFCDT Sarah
Tallis (RAAF), LACW Michelle Allen (RAAF), LT Michelle Sheater
(Army), SIG Jodie Kennedy (Army), OFFCDT Amanda Gosling (RAAF),
CPL Emma Hender (Army).
