IN our final South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Women’s team preview, we take a look at Woodville-West Torrens Eagles, a side that finished its inaugural season without a win, but showed great spirit throughout and seemed to gel more as the season went on.

2019 BY THE NUMBERS:

Position: 8th
Wins: 0
Losses: 10
For: 227
Against: 542
Percentage: 41.9%

2020 CHANGES

(as per Zak Milbank’s article on the SANFL site)

IN: Ali Evans (West Adelaide), Rebecca Catterall (Central District), Nicole Collie (North Adelaide).
OUT: Jaimi Tabb (Adelaide AFLW), Tash Farrier (Ice Hockey), Hannah Scholar (West Adelaide), Taylor Hand (West Adelaide), Jo Baltias (Sturt), Rachel Dunstan (Sturt), Aajiah Jericho (Sturt).

FIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH

Kiana Lee

Missed out on being drafted last year, but the 18-year-old showed in patches that she has what it takes to keep pushing and deserved a place in the Central Allies side at the AFL Women’s Under-18 Championships. Lee returns to the Eagles line-up having booted nine goals from 10 games in a team that struggled to put scores on the board last year. She will again be a key target inside the arc so expect her to cause some headaches with an extra year of experience under her belt.

Stephanie Walker

A member of the leadership group having stepped back from the inaugural captaincy last year, Walker was one of the Eagles’ most consistent players last season. She played 10 games and averaged 15.3 disposals and 2.8 rebounds, working hard to push back and help her defenders, all while running at 75 per cent disposal efficiency. She will again be one the team turns to this season, though the former AFL Women’s player has been touted for a role change in 2020, to provide more support in attack

Jaimi Tabb

Despite the fact Tabb will likely play plenty of games for the Crows given her form last year – getting better as the season went on – if she does manage to come back and play it is impossible not to have her on this list. She went from strength to strength in 2019, winning the ball on a string and then continuing that form into the AFL Women’s Under-18 Championships. Loves the contested side of football but can also outrun her opponents on the outside, always wearing them down.

Caitlin Sampson

A key player through the ruck, Sampson provided first hands to her teammates in the role, playing the first seven games of the season and showing some promising signs in her first year in the competition. She averaged six touches and 14 hitouts per game, ranking fifth overall in the stat. Still raw and developing, Samson will have benefited from 2019, and with some fresh faces around, she could be important against a host of talented talls in the competition this year.

Jovanka Zecevic

The 21-year-old was a permanent fixture out of defence, averaging 11.1 disposals and 2.7 rebounds per game. She played nine of a possible 10 games, and had a purple patch mid-season where she racked up 17, 16 and 18 disposals consecutively – against the top three teams. In the same period, she averaged almost five rebounds per game, standing up under severe heat, and with Walker playing more of a forward role, she will be the one to turn to when it comes to settling down the back six.

FIXTURE

1 vs. South Adelaide
2 vs. Norwood
3 vs. Sturt
4 vs. Glenelg
5 vs. West Adelaide
6 vs. Norwood
7 vs. Central District
8 vs. North Adelaide
9 vs. Glenelg
10 vs. Sturt

Woodville-West Torrens has a mixed bag when it comes to double-up games, facing last year’s minor premiers Norwood, finalists Glenelg and bottom three side Sturt, twice. It is a tough start to the season with the reigning premiers and Redlegs up in the first fortnight, but the goal for the Eagles this season will be to breakthrough for that first win and then build from there.