THE NT Thunder has been one of the in-form teams of the Victorian Football League (VFL) Women’s competition and we decided to focus on one of the hottest young talents in the competition. Nineteen year-old, Eloise Jones played her first season in the AFLW for Adelaide, and was nominated as a Rising Star during the season. Jones will line up for the NT Thunder in the VFLW season, and played mainly on the wing in the Thunder’s big win over Essendon at TIO Stadium. We analysed Jones’ game, including movements, stats and more*.

*Please note that statistics may be different to Champion Data due to definition and human error.  

#2 Eloise Jones- NT Thunder  

Q1:

0.00: Started on the wing
2.42: Attempted smother on Danielle Ponter’s kick out of the pack
4.34: Ran from defensive 50 to centre square
5.40: Moved forward to receive a kick from the boundary line
5.59: Ran towards Chelsea Randall to assist her when she had the ball in hand
6.09: Ran and chased two Essendon players in the centre square
8.05: Ran to receive a handball but Machaelia Roberts missed her with the handball
9.01: Laid a high tackle on Natasha Hardy in defensive 50
10.45: Attempted to pick up the footy but just slipped through her hands in the centre square
12.24: Moved inside the centre circle to play as an onballer after Alex Quigley’s goal
13.35: Ran hard to take an intercept mark in the Thunder’s forward line off Kirby Hicks’ kick from full back, but the ball slipped through her hands
18.25: Collected the footy off the deck off Jordann Hickey’s kick and kicked it towards goal, but it goes out on the full

Q2:

0.00: Started on a wing
1.37: Marked a free kick from Emma Swanson in the forward 50 on a tight angle from about 45 metres out
1.57: Kicks the ball to the top of the square instead of going for goal
3.55: Used fast closing speed to put pressure on Maddy Collier, who kicked back into the corridor inside NT’s forward 50
4.40: Jones takes a great contested mark off Jess Allan’s centering ball, and got the opportunity to have a shot at goal from 30 metres out directly in front
4.54: Jones misses the shot at goal
6.40: Takes an intercept mark of a Hayley Bullas kick from about 50 metres out from goal after running on from the interchange bench
6.43: Pinpoints the kick inside 50 to Tayla Thorn
9.54: Jones leaps for a fantastic uncontested overhead mark just outside the goal square, straight in front from Chelsea Randall’s kick to the square
10.02: Kicks her first goal of the day
17.57: Jones picks up a loose ball and kicks it along the ground inside 50

Q3:

0.56: Tried to snatch the ball off an Essendon opponent while she was being tackled by Emma Swanson
2.02: Ran behind Renee Forth on the set shot to get a chance to run into goal from long range, but didn’t receive the handball
8.04: Laid a tackle on Valerie Moreau and the ball spilled out of bounds
8.32: Jones punches the ball towards Georgia Bevan from the throw-in stoppage
8.52: Dived on the ball while Hayley Bullas was being tackled by Michelle Ellis to create a stoppage
9.06: Jones picked up the ball off a deck from the ruck tap and is immediately tackled by Lisa Williams. Creates a stoppage
16.40: Tayla Thorn hacks it forward and Jones picks the ball off the deck and takes off from the back half
16.41: Handpasses over the top to Emma Swanson in space

Q4:

0.00: Started on the wing
5.08: Jones picks up a kick that falls short inside 50 and handballs it off to captain, Angela Foley
6.47: Jones gets a loose ball, spins around her opponent and hacks it inside 50
10.18: Jones marks a long switch kick from Angela Foley
10.20: Kicks the ball straight to Samantha Barnett, but the ball slips out of her hands
17.59: Jones lays a tackle on Jessica Trend. Creates a stoppage
18.17: Jones gets the clearance from the stoppage, waves away her opponent and kicks the ball to Georgia Bevan just outside the centre square, who marks

Total stats: One goal, zero behinds, three tackles, five marks, one contested mark, four uncontested marks, nine kicks, two handballs, 11 disposals, one free against

Overall, Jones played really well on the wing, using her great hands to effect at multiple times. She opted to kick rather than handball, which paid off for her throughout the afternoon. The 19 year-old also floated up forward at times and generally made an impact when she did, kicking one goal for the afternoon. Jones was named third best in the Thunder’s 72-point win over the Bombers.