Youth Girls Going from Strength to Strength
The Youth Girls format is proving to be an absolute winner following a fantastic round 2 of matches in the competition. Over 50 girls came together at Leisure Park, Coffs Harbour, for a double header of high quality matches that were highlighted not only by the standard of play, but also by the sportsmanship displayed by all involved.
Although this was only round 2 of the competition the increase in skill level of all players was really noticeable as the players are really taking to AFL and finding that the skills developed in other sports are easily transferable.
In the first match of the day, home team Coffs Breakers took on the Port Macquarie Magpies who were donning their club colours for the first time. This was an entertaining affair right from the first bounce with both teams showing a real attack on the ball and putting their opponent under plenty of pressure. The Breakers were able to kick out to an early lead with good finishing in front of goal proving the key to their performance.
For the Breakers, strong performances were posted by Emily Rickards, Cassidy Ronalds, and Jasmine Reid.
This was the Breakers first win as a team and they sang the club song with the same degree of effort and intensity as went into their on field performance!
Although Port were soundly beaten on the scoreboard this really didn’t reflect the quality of their effort or performance. Considering that this was the first time the girls had played for their club they are bound to get stronger the further the season progresses.
Ashleigh Grace, Paris Reid, and Lauren Beasley typified the effort of the Port Magpies, setting a great example for their teammates.
Coffs Breakers 9.6.60 defeated Port Macquarie Magpies 0.0.0
In the second match-up, Macleay Valley Eagles took on the Grafton Tigers who were making their debut in this competition. The Macleay Valley girls are an exciting combination of experienced performers and athletically talented newcomers and this combination worked beautifully to establish a 55 point lead by half time.
Grafton regrouped at the main break and came out strongly in the second half as their combinations started to click. By the full time siren the Tigers had managed to claw the deficit back to 38 points but weren’t able to threaten the Eagles lead.
New Macleay Valley recruits Stacey Griffen, Lizzie Donovan-Verge, and Justine Green were standouts, providing great support to the team’s established stars. Grafton were led by the efforts of Jordan Speechley and Lilly Doyle, with great back-up provided by Mackenzie Bagnall.
Macleay Valley is the early pace setter in the competition with two wins from two matches played.
Grafton have several experienced players who were unavailable for this round but will come into the team next time which will add further quality to their line-up.
Macleay Valley Eagles 13.13.91 defeated Grafton Tigers 7.11.53
Round 3 of the competition is on Sunday 21 May when Port Magpies host Macleay Valley Eagles at Wayne Richards Park, whilst Coffs Breakers travel to Ellem Oval, Grafton to take on the Tigers.
