It's been a busy fortnight of football for the 14 GIANTS’ AFL Women’s players in action across Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne.
AFL Sydney Women’s Premier Division
Ellie Brush and Jacinda Barclay both featured in the AFL Sydney Women’s Premier Division top-of-the-table clash at University Oval on Saturday.
Brush was influential for Macquarie University as they extended their unbeaten run to 11 games, with a hard-fought seven point win over Barclay’s UNSW-ES Bulldogs. Macquarie University were goalless at half time but managed to hit the lead at the final break. A riveting final term saw the Warriors kick two goals to the Bulldog’s one in what could be a Grand Final preview.
Erin McKinnon’s Sydney University lifted themselves from the bottom of the ladder with a 20 point win over the Newtown Breakaways at Mahoney Park on Saturday.
The All Australian ruck battled tirelessly in the ruck as the Students recorded their first win in five weeks, while former GIANT Codie Briggs kicked two goals for Newtown.
Brush, Barclay and McKinnon all featured in the Northern GIANTS’ narrow loss to Brisbane in the Women’s Winter Series a fortnight ago.
UNSW Canberra 1st Grade Women’s
Jodie Hicks was one of Belconnen’s standout performers in a top-of-the-table clash with Eastlake Demons on Saturday at Canberra’s Adero Law Nest.
The Magpies were too good for the Demons, winning by 34 point as Hicks was named second-best on ground.
Meanwhile, Britt Tully was again influential in the midfield for Gungahlin as they lost to Queanbeyan by 42 points.
It’s the fourth-straight loss for Tully’s side, which sits in fourth place on the ladder after nine matches.
Both Hicks and Tully performed well as the Southern GIANTS recorded their first win in the Women’s Winter Series over the Gold Coast Suns a fortnight ago.
VFLW
It’s been a busy fortnight for the AFLW GIANTS featuring in the VFLW competition.
Round 7
Five GIANTS featured in the Essendon/Hawthorn clash a fortnight ago, with the Hawks claiming the win by 27 points at Box Hill City Oval.
Rebecca Beeson gathered 24 touches for the Hawks while Pepa Randall again featured in the midfield, collecting 17 disposals and laying 10 tackles as Tait Mackrill had 13 disposals.
Maddy Collier was impressive for the Bombers, collecting 17 disposals in the midfield, while Tanya Hetherington was solid down back in her first game back.
2017 Gabrielle Trainor Medallist Jess Dal Pos laid six tackles and had 14 disposals in the Darebin Falcon’s 12 point win over Emma Swanson’s (17 disposals, six marks and six tackles) NT Thunder.
Round 8
Round eight saw another clash of the GIANTS’ AFLW favourites, with five GIANTS lining up in the Richmond/ Hawthorn encounter at Punt Road.
Phoebe Monahan found plenty of the football for Richmond, collecting an equal-game-high 26 disposals in the Tigers’ four point loss.
Louise Stephenson was tireless in the forward line for the Tigers, while Beeson (18 disposals and seven tackles) and Mackrill (11 disposals) and Pepa Randall contributed strongly for the Hawks.
Collier was a tackling machine as the Bombers lost to Casey Demons at Rams Arena on Saturday.
The 22-year-old laid an astonishing 14 tackles and had 17 disposals, while fellow GIANT Tanya Hetherington had an early end to her game after receiving a nasty cut to her forehead.
Finally, Emma Swanson was again busy for the NT Thunder as they lost their second consecutive game, this time against Collingwood at TIO Stadium in Darwin. Swanson kicked a goal and was amongst the Thunder’s best on ground in the 16 point loss.
And while it's not football related, GIANT Elle Bennetts has could be on her way to returning to the football field after completing her duties as Wing Attack for the Netball NSW Waratahs in the Australian Netball League. The Canberra GIANTS finished runners-up in the competition on Saturday, losing the Grand Final to the Tasmanian Magpies.
