AFL North West Blue Heelers women’s side claimed victory over AFL North Coast Force women in their representative match at the weekend, defeating their coastal counterparts 26-7 in a festival of AFL representative footy held in Newcastle.
Fighting through blustery conditions that consisted of howling winds upwards of 40kmh, the North West side was well served by the core of Gunnedah Poochettes participants – of particular note of those was Laura Ewington, who was named player of the match as best on ground by the officiating umpires.
Including Ewington, the Gunnedah and District AFC were represented through eight Poochette players on the day, with all members ensuring their selection was justified in influencing the Blue Heelers side’s victory.
Abbey Ruttley and Casey O’Connell were instrumental at keeping the North Coast to a single major for the match, continually snuffing waves of attack thrown at them in the Blue Heelers defensive half, with Ruttley a rock at the key defensive post of fullback and O’Connell, ever dependable in the air and at ground level on a half back flank.
Evidence of this was the fact the North West side kept the opposition scoreless for three quarters, with North Coast kicking their only major for the match in the last quarter.
Conversely for the Blue Heelers, Lexi Walker, anointed captain of the representative side as a testament to her ‘lead-from-the-front’ personality, combined with Georgia Tibbs to provide numerous opportunities in the front and attacking half following the consistent turnovers out of the defensive sector from Ruttley and O’Connell.
Walker in the ruck, and as a prominent centre half forward, was a continual and key target in aerial contests, using her brute strength to attract opposition defenders to the contest that in turn, brought the ball to ground for the likes of small forward Tibbs on a half forward flank to crumb at ground level as well as slick onballers Ewington and Katrina Rekunow.
Ewington and Rekunow were dynamite in the midfield, together dominating the possession count across the ground, highlighted by Rekunow’s well-known ability as a ball magnet and evidently, throughout the duration of the contest found first possession of the footy.
Adhering adept skills and smart knowledge of the game, Rekunow for four quarters released team mates into expanses around the ground through an ability at using the footy efficiently via handball and foot in tight and congested spaces.
On the back of this, Rekunow’s efforts in congestion enabled Ewington the freedom to drive numerous attacks but importantly for Ewington, the pressure on ball from Rekunow forced countless unforced errors and turnovers from North Coast.
From there, Ewington was able to zone off her direct opponent, in turn affording the luxury to position herself a kick behind the play.
Countlessly, that paid dividends for the Blue Heelers, as Ewington clunked an abundance of intercept marks that became a feature of the match and attributed to Ewington’s best on ground display.
With the match in the balance at 6-0 after the first quarter – of which that scoreline remained the same by the half time interval after a solitary Blue Heelers goal kicked in the first quarter – it was a combination of Poochettes who stood out in the third and last quarter terms.
At full forward, Tamworth Kangaroos’s Melanie Young duly obliged the efforts further afield from the likes of Ruttley and O’Connell in the defensive arc, combined with Rekunow and Ewington’s pressure on ball in the midfield, appropriately benefiting from the continual forward entries presented to her on the way to booting four majors for the match.
Adjudged best on ground for the side, coach Jakob Vearing was full of praise for all the Poochettes players but singled out Ewington’s influence as a key reason for his side’s 19-point victory.
“She was huge, disrupted the oppositions exit out of our forward line and was damaging off her own boot,” Vearing said.
“She made really good decisions all game.
“Our girls (Poochettes) were the big driver of the team’s structure, all of them had an impact at some stage during the game.”
Vearing said all showed a positive attitude to the representative concept, with a strong commitment shown towards the AFL North West side from the players.
“It was a fun game and the girls loved it, purely for the fun of playing with different people to that of their club sides and against an opponent they knew nothing about,” he said.
Vearing also believes the representative circuit initiative from AFLNSW is a step in the right direction when promoting the sport, and in rewarding the consistency of players within the AFL North West women’s competition through selection in the Blue Heelers side.
“It’s a good concept and representative selection is a nice reward for the players,” he added.
“The vibe was really good among the girls, a lot of encouragement and positive energy.
“We had majority of the ball but in trying conditions it looked like they’d (Blue Heelers) all played together before.
“It was clear to see all those that played on the day care about the nuances and structure of the game, and want to continue to promote the game and get better which all comes down to a positive attitude.”
Lily Jensen was drafted into the squad at late notice and performed a solid role on a wing, while Meg Leaton pinch-hit through the midfield off the bench for the side, winning numerous contested ground balls during her bursts from the interchange.
With the representative carnival of footy fixtures now over, the Gunnedah Poochettes and Bulldogs will turn their attention to their respective AFL North West competitions.
On a designated Ladies Day set down for the club to honour the influence of the women in and around the sport and club itself, both sides are set to take on the Tamworth Swans in round nine of action this weekend at Gunnedah’s Wolseley Oval.
Should the Poochettes continue their 2024 unbeaten run, they’ll all but secure the right of passage directly through to the grand final in one month, while for the Bulldogs, a win would ensure a return to finals action for the first time in four seasons.
Scores:
ALNW Blue Heelers women
Q1
1.0.6
Q2
1.0.6
Q3
2.2.14
Q4
4.2.26
Goal Scorer – Melanie Young – 4
AFLNC Force women’s
Q1
0.0.0
Q2
0.0.0
Q3
0.0.0
Q4
1.1.7
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