The Women’s Winter Series has wrapped up with the Northern GIANTS comfortably beating the Southern GIANTS by 41 points.
The Northern GIANTS were too good for the Southern GIANTS in the final fixture of the competition on Saturday, winning 9.9 (63) to 3.4 (22) at Tom Wills Oval.
A strong first-quarter performance from the Southern GIANTS stunned the star-studded Northern GIANTS, but a strong second half led by AFLW star Ellie Brush helped get the Northern side to their second win.
Northern GIANTS midfielder Alicia Eva said the Southern GIANTS really took it up to a strong Northern GIANTS side, which boasted eight AFLW players.
“It was a tough win, the Southern GIANTS came out really hard and they beat us at the contested ball early,” she said.
“We managed to get back on top in those areas and played some more composed football after
Eva said there were a number of impressive individual performances from both sides.
“Meagan Kiely (UNSW-ES Bulldogs) from a midfield perspective is a midfield bull; she’s handy for a player like me as she can do the inside work,” Eva said with a laugh.
“There’s a few of the under 18 girls, Alyce Parker (Thurgoona Bulldogs) has been tearing it up for the Southern GIANTS.
“Rylee McGartland (Wollongong Saints) has offered plenty up forward and leads up really nicely. (She) can clunk a few marks and has a beautiful set shot on her.
“There’s certainly a few players that have put their hands up (for AFLW selection).”
The reigning Gabrielle Trainor Medallist said the Winter Series has been a great opportunity for the GIANTS’ AFLW players to continue to train and play together during the off-season.
“It’s been really important for a number of reasons, initially it was a way to keep a number of AFLW players together,” Eva said.
“We’ve seen a few girls go down to play in the
“We train together weekly and it also gives our coaching staff and our selection panel a bit of a look at who’s around in the NSW/ACT pathway and who’s running around in the state leagues.”
Meanwhile, at Metricon Stadium on Saturday, the Brisbane Lions beat the Gold Coast Suns 13.6 (84) to 1.5 (11) to finish undefeated in the 2018 Women’s Winter Series.
