WEST Adelaide secured a drought-breaking win in the opening SANFL Women’s round on Saturday, with plenty of emerging talent on show for both Westies and Glenelg. One such talent was tall utility Lucy Boyd, a bottom-ager who showed her wares in defence against a couple of high-level opponents. She’s the subject of our Round 1 Player Focus.

>> SANFLW Round 1 recap

West Adelaide Women's, South Australia GirlsTall Utility

Lucy Boyd

Height: 172cm

Weight: -

DOB: 12-10-2006

2023 SANFL Women’s: Round 1
West Adelaide 3.5 (23) def. Glenelg 1.3 (9)

STATS: 16 disposals (14 kicks, 2 handballs), 2 marks, 6 tackles, 3 rebound 50s

FIRST QUARTER

Though beaten in her first aerial contest by top-age prospect Piper Window at half-back, Boyd quickly built into the heat of battle and brought a great intensity to the game. Undeterred by being left in Window’s wake, she worked hard to jet back and lay a hard tackle inside defensive 50, albeit conceding a free kick in the process.

Boyd ended up on the other side of the umpire’s whistle soon after, getting to the loose ball first and dishing out with clean hands, only to be taken in the back. Her sharp short foot skills and sound decision making came to the fore with the resultant kick, which found a target.

Spending most of the term keeping Adelaide youngster Brooke Tonon company, the bottom-ager followed closely and seemed to outwork her adversary from contest to contest. She wasn’t afraid to advance high up the ground, but remained accountable on the way back.

Her aggression while competing for the ball was a real feature of the first term, and complimented the defender’s efficient handling and ball use nicely. Overall, a really solid first 20 minutes in which Westies held Glenelg scoreless.

SECOND QUARTER

Boyd could hardly have anticipated a better start to her second quarter. Glenelg cleared forward with a long kick to Violet Patterson, who marked and set off inside 50, only to be hunted down and caught holding the ball by Boyd. Her pace was impressive in that instance, as was her decision making to peel off Window and make the defensive effort.

As the term wore on and the Bays opened their scoring account, Boyd began to pick up more uncontested ball. Her reading of the play really shone, as she worked into good spots on the spread and was consistently a viable outlet option. Once in possession, she used the ball typically well with short kicks, often safe but sometimes inboard.

There were a couple of exceptions to Boyd’s usual play. The first was a timely handball receive and burst of speed through centre half-back, which was capped by a booming long kick down the guts to Lauren Young. The next was a turnover, with one of Boyd’s many short kicks wonderfully cut off by the thorn in her side, Window. It hardly lowered the quality of her first half, though.

THIRD QUARTER

Compared to her more prolific first half, Boyd’s offensive output slowed in the third quarter, though she remained defensively active with just about a full 20 minutes on Window. While keeping touch with her direct opponent, Boyd reacted quickly and smartly to an early clearance which came her way, and chased down the scraps.

Unfortunately, a big double-team tackle on Window saw her concede a free kick inside defensive 50, though Glenelg couldn’t put any damage on the board. Boyd again went on to showcase her long kicking with a rebound 50 ball from the last line, but overall had a quieter quarter as West Adelaide extended its lead with another shutout.

FOURTH QUARTER

After an arguably less prolific third term, Boyd finished the game strongly with a couple of terrific one-on-one efforts and more of the same shrewd ball use. She fought well to win free kicks with the ball on the deck against the likes of Window and Ellie Kellock, holding her ground and battling for best positon.

Her scanning of the play with ball in hand was excellent, with Boyd finding targets with kick-ins and wide lateral kicks to keep the play moving. Though some kicks, like one which went backwards from half-back, were safe and hardly asked questions of Glenelg, Boyd’s efficiency and awareness were on point.

FINAL THOUGHTS…

As a bottom-ager, there is plenty of time for Boyd to continue to develop her game, though she looks to have done so to a great degree already, from last season to now. Capable of playing tall but competitive at ground level, her versatility makes her a highly desirable prospect who can play roles at either end of the ground. Add in a good deal of athleticism and kicking skills she has clearly been working on, and Boyd is certainly one to watch for next year’s AFLW Draft.