WAFLW Round 4 Wrap-up

In tough weather conditions, our female sides faced off against East Perth and East Fremantle at Steel Blue Oval on Sunday, looking to make their way up their respective ladders.

With only three games remaining in the 2020 women’s fixture, getting a win on the board was essential for all teams, as they continue to fight for their spot in this year’s finals series.

A mixed-bag of results on the day, supporters in attendance or watching via the live stream witnessed the good, the bad and the ugly, in some rainy, cold weather. 

Rogers Cup

Is there a worse feeling in football than losing the game after the siren? This was the story for our Rogers Cup girls on Sunday morning, in a heartbreaking loss at Steel Blue Oval against East Perth.

In a slow start to the game, the young Swans struggled to make an impact in the first half, with the Royals switched on from the opening bounce.

A half time rev up saw them come out working together in the third, winning the clearances and locking the ball forward until they scored.

With about 20 secs left in the final term, and with the Swans up by 5 points, the girls cleared the ball out of their backline and onto the wing. East Perth won the ball back, kicking it inside their forward 50. With almost no time on the clock, a dropped Royals mark saw them gather the crumbs and quickly put it on the boot. The siren sounded as the ball bounced untouched towards goal, rolling over the line to see the visitors take a one point victory, 2.2 [14] to 2.3 [15].   

Riley Hall, Layla Nelson and Siofra Clarke were voted as the best three on ground respectively.

Reserves

In arguably one of the toughest losses so far this season, it was a hard day at the office for our Reserves side, coming up against an undefeated East Fremantle outfit.

Wet conditions and constant rain in the first quarter saw the ball locked in the Sharks forward half, with the play not venturing past the centre square for the Swans. With the wet ball, chip kicks resulted in turnovers, proving costly on the scoreboard.

It was a similar story in the second quarter, as East Fremantle rebounded the ball out of their back half on the couple of occasions the ball drifted forward for the black and whites. The Swans first genuine opportunity to score came after the half time siren, when Shannan Rene laid a great tackle, with her opponent reacting badly, hitting her high and giving away a 50m penalty. It wasn’t meant to be as the ball dropped short of the goals, going into the main break without a score on the board.

As the third quarter begun, it was obvious that the girls had been instructed to attack the ball more ferociously and kick longer. As the rain started to ease, the Swans seemed to get their hands on the ball a bit more.

As the rain stopped in the fourth, the Swans took control of possession, keeping it locked in their forward half for much of the quarter. With a number of unsuccessful shots on goal, a couple of late behinds saw the ladies defeated 0.2 [2] to 7.12 [54].

League

The Grand Final rematch was a game that did not disappoint. A tough, physical encounter in sloppy conditions saw Swan Districts come from behind, defeating East Fremantle 5.3 [33] to 3.3 [21].

Although there were still many familiar faces in the side from last weekend’s loss to the Lions, it was a different looking Swans team from the get go, with much stronger efforts around every contest and a greater improvement of basic skills.

The Swans controlled the ball for the majority of the first quarter, but couldn’t impact the scoreboard. With strong pressure locking the ball inside their half of the ground, it was the Sharks who put the first major on the board, kicking a goal against the flow.

The second quarter saw the ball continue to be locked in tight around the ground, with neither team able to really break free from the congestion. With the game again being played primarily in the Swans forward half, it was Nyra Anderson who put the black ducks on the board, kicking their first goal of the game off the back of a free kick. With the black and whites leading the tackle-count and inside 50’s, East Fremantle once again capitalised against the flow, taking a 7 point lead into the main break.

Coming into the third, the Swans were relentless with their pressure, desperate to get back on the winners list. Holding their opponents scoreless for the quarter, Fiona Boucher tied the game up with a cheeky toe-poke on the line, while Shanae Davison snapped truly to hit the lead for the first time in the game, holding onto a six point lead going into the final term.

With confidence high, and knowing that a win would put them back into the top four, it was the Swans desperation plays which really stood out. Anderson took a great diving mark in the pocket to extend the lead, and when Mikayla Morrison broke through the congestion to roll another goal home, the game was all but over.

However, the play of the day had to be what could only be described as a David vs Goliath moment, late in the fourth quarter.

As the ball went deep inside East Fremantle’ forward line, a goal looked all but certain, with arguably the Sharks tallest player picking the ball up uncontested in the goal square. What she didn’t account for was the speed and desperation of probably the smallest player on the field; Tara Stribley. She was all over her in a flash, launching her body at her opponent, wrapping her up and bringing her to ground. Unfortunately, what should have definitely be called holding the ball, the umpire flipped the other way, deeming a high tackle, for the Sharks only goal of the second half. Stribley later joked that even if she jumped she probably wouldn’t have been able to touch her opponents’ shoulders.

Head coach, Jo Taylor said it was positive to see each of the players take their goals from training into the game.

“It was really pleasing to see that both of our focuses for the week were evident out there today” she said.

“In pretty tough conditions, the girls were able to push through and still hit the targets we set ourselves during the week.”

Sarah Wielstra, Shanae Davison and Mikayla Hyde were voted best on ground for the game, while captain, Emily McGuire was awarded with the player’s player.

From one Freo-based team to another, make sure you head down to Fremantle Community Bank Oval this weekend to see all six of our Swans teams take on the Bulldogs, across both Saturday and Sunday.