Wow! what was that? Welcome to Div 1!
Credit where credit is due – the start of Sunday’s game was a first quarter blitz by a very talented opposition side.
With a strong wind and a little early confusion we got a very quick introduction to Div 1 footy.
It was a very different quarter time huddle as we worked at regrouping ourselves and chatted about how we would approach the rest of the game. For the first time there was some hard breathing as we realised how hard we had to run to match our opponents around the ground.
Like other weeks, we began to find our feet and slowly build our confidence after such a blistering start. Our opponents didn’t let up but we began to match them in tackles, fought hard for the ball and worked desperately in defence.
Credit to our defenders particularly for weathering such intense pressure.
We also took some big knocks and players fought hard. Steph took a big hit to the head and Kim also was hit hard through a tackle but throughout the game our team showed courage to keep attacking the ball. Anika also took a knock and couldn’t return to the field.
Our opponents were impressive but, as we saw in the last quarter, we can take excellent teams on. In fact, the last three quarters were actually four goals to three. It was a tremendous fighting effort by everyone.
There were some outstanding efforts around the ground.
Greta in the midfield and down back.
Molly for her defensive pressure and marks.
Ella as per every week she just makes such a difference.
The loudest interchange bench for the whole game calling encouragement.
Tamsyn’s return game in defence was outstanding.
Lilly for her run and determination around the ground
Thanks to the injured players Bella, Sophie, Tilly and Buddy for coming down and supporting their teammates.
Thanks also to parents and friends particularly Pickers for managing the board and helping get the girls on and off the ground. Nice try Pickers trying to get all 25 girls on for the last quarter! To hear the cheer for our first goal, despite the overall score, is why having such great parents, friends and teammates around makes the coaching job so rewarding.
While the game proved how hard it can be to play in Div 1, the whole team’s spirit and fight along with the opportunity to learn and get better will make for an exciting next few weeks. As Jacko said we can play in Div 1. It’s just important that you play every minute of the game at 100%. A great lesson to learn.
Well done girls.
