EASTERN Ranges captain Bridget Deed became part of Hawthorn Football Club history on Friday night, and she also had a decent NAB League Girls outing to boot. Hawks coach Bec Goddard announced Deed would become the club’s first pre-listed player, so it was only fitting that she put on a show in another big Eastern win.

The star midfielder racked up a game-high 28 disposals, seven tackles and six inside 50s as her side downed the Oakleigh Chargers by 62 points. All of her ball winning prowess was on show during her Round 5 performance, which we place under the Player Focus microscope.

Box Hill VFLW, HawthornInside Midfielder

Bridget Deed

Height: 168cm

Weight: -

DOB: 07-03-2003

Strengths:

Accumulation

Clean hands

Clearances

Consistency

Decision making

Stoppage work

SEASON SO FAR

Averages: 31.5 disposals, 3 marks, 7 clearances, 7.5 tackles, 5.3 inside 50s, 2 rebound 50s, 0.3 goals (1 total)

Deed has simply been a level above many of her peers in 2022. The over-ager has come back much stronger after being overlooked last year, improving her kicking and becoming an even more dominant figure at the contest. Her competitive spirit and work rate have been evident in spades, helping produce averages of 31.5 disposals, 7.5 tackles, 5.3 inside 50s and seven clearances per her four games – all of which have been Eastern Ranges wins. Having lead by example and clearly bettered herself in the off-season, she is more than deserving of higher honours.

ROUND 5:
Eastern Ranges 12.4 (76) def. Oakleigh Chargers 2.2 (14)

Stats: 28 disposals (19 kicks, 9 handballs), 2 marks, 7 tackles, 6 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50

QUARTER-BY-QUARTER:

First Quarter

You can just about pencil in Deed for a half-dozen touches or more per quarter, and she looked switched on from the opening bounce this time out. In a fight for the very first clearance, she won the ground ball and released to partner-in-crime Izzy Khoury, who set off into space and got the Ranges’ assault underway.

Deed then rotated forward, working up past the 50-metre arc on the lead and displaying her clean hands to mark. With ball in hand, she looked to move it on quickly with a quick turn onto her favoured left side to send Eastern inside 50.

Her use by foot has proven much more punchy this year, and while not massively damaging, gets enough penetration on the uptake and is used to hit enough targets around the ground.

Back at the stoppages, Deed’s balance and strength came to the fore again as she stopped, propped and then powered through traffic to boot away another clearance. It was a solid start for the over-ager, and one which she built on strongly.

Second Quarter

It has sometimes proven difficult to take notes on Deed’s games in 2022 because the culmination of her acts can be put down to a single phrase – domination. She continued on her merry way in term two, accumulating plenty of possessions around the ground in typical fashion.

Another of her clear improvements has been that ability to not only find the ball in contested situations, but spread away from the stoppages and help link possession in open play.

She did so at will, demanding the ball and showcasing a clean set of hands when it came her way. Seldom fazed under pressure, she released just as cleanly by hand but also backed her short skills by foot and went long out of congestion.

Third Quarter

It was more of the same after half-time for Deed, as she picked up from where she left off – especially in a contested ball sense. Her strength became a feature, as she stood up in tackles and shrugged a couple off to help keep the play moving.

One who also remains relevant in a defensive sense, Deed got her hands dirty and while not overly quick, did her best to chase and tackle when the ball did not fall her side’s way. Above all else, Deed’s cleanliness again shone as the Ranges continued to own the midfield battle.

Fourth Quarter

Looking to finish in style, Deed got her hands on the ball at the very first centre bounce once more, and completed the clearance with a long kick inside 50. While there was plenty of time left to play, the Ranges skipper set the tone for her side to not let up, as the Ranges went on to bury Oakleigh by over 10 goals.

After what was another rather complete performance in the engine room, Goddard spoke to the Eastern group and singled out her maiden recruit, giving her the news such a dominant month of football has yielded. With the long-term sorted, Deed could opt to continue playing in the NAB League, or join the Hawks’ VFLW campaign to see out the year.