SOUTH Australia’s top AFL Women’s draft prospects returned for Round 6 of the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Women’s on the weekend. As always, we took a look at each of the state academy athletes running around in the League competition and made notes on their individual performances.

*Each note is the opinion of the individual author.

North Adelaide:

#9 Laela Ebert

The classy talent was able to hit the scoreboard twice in the opening term in what was an impressive forward display. Ebert kicked her first goal from a flying shot under pressure, before kicking her second later in the term in a similar fashion. Many of her seven disposals were in that opening term and first half, but what she did with the limited opportunities was promising.

#30 Jayde Visser

Visser battled hard throughout the game showing her high running capacity and slick burst. Her hands were clean in traffic and though her kicking was often under pressure, she worked her way to nine disposals, three marks, four tackles and four inside 50s.

Central District:

#8 Elaine Grigg

After a couple of big weeks, Grigg has a quieter game in the sense that she was not her normally clean self. She still had some eye-catching moments and was able to set up scoring opportunities, but looked a little sore. Some of her highlights included a neat sidestep and snap towards the pocket in the third term then setting up a crucial goal to Evans in the fourth term. Grigg finished with 11 disposals, two marks, eight tackles and one inside 50s.

#12 Sophie Eaton

Eaton got into the game midway through the second term and impacted the game on the scoreboard. She was involved in the scoring chain for Evans’ first, then pounced on a loose ball and dribbled a goal herself under pressure. She teamed up well with Evans on the wing in the third term for a nice one-two then set up two consecutive goals late in the third term as the Bulldogs hit the front. Eaton recorded 11 disposals, two marks – one contested, one tackle, two inside 50s and one goal.

#27 Jasmine Evans

An outstanding game from the youngster who slotted three goals from eight disposals to be a key player in Central District’s attack. Her first came at the 15-minute mark of the second term with a brilliant snap, then kicked another snap goal midway through the third term. Capping off her performance, Evans finished cleanly with a running goal in space in the ninth minute of the final term.

Woodville-West Torrens:

#2 Jemma Charity

After three goals last week, Charity had a lot less looks at goal with just the one behind for Round 6. She still had some lively moments though, with her score coming after a great mark at half-forward, took off, handballed under pressure to run onto, received it back from a teammate and had a running shot just missed to the right. She also snapped around her body in the final term, but the ball remained in play. Overall she collected six disposals, three marks – two contested – one tackle and two inside 50s.

#7 Grace Martin

Another player who had fewer opportunities in the forward half, but still showed promising signs in the front half of the ground. She worked hard when forward or on-ball and covered the ground well to win it off half-back in the third term. Ultimately she just had the eight touches, two marks and three tackles, but tried to create some run for her team. Martin had eight disposals, two marks and three tackles.

#30 Marlie Fiegert

Stringing together a couple of strong games now, Fiegert achieved her goal of solidifying her place in the State Academy this year. She was strong around the clearances and able to win five of them, while bringing her typical pressure to the contest. Though that polish can still be improved upon, she found more of the ball and had more of an impact at the coalface. Fiegert totalled up 20 disposals eight tackles and five clearances.

#34 Shineah Goody

One of the Eagles best as always, Goody racked up 19 disposals, seven marks – two contested – five tackles and two inside 50s in a hard working performance on the wing. She was clean, composed and competitive across four quarters and a machine in the air. Not only does Goody have the class and skill, but her willingness to put her body on the line for her team is evident. In the last two minutes with her side down by 60 points, she would have been forgiven for not going full steam, but instead Goody threw herself into two marking contests, pulling down a huge grab and then coming off worse for wear with the second but will be admired for the effort.

Sturt:

#6 India Rasheed

Rasheed was our Player Focus for the week and her performance was noted in detail via that article. In the win over Eagles, Rasheed collected 22 disposals, seven marks, six tackles, three clearances, two inside 50s and a goal.

>> India Rasheed Player Focus

#16 Monique Bessen

Continuing her rotation through the midfield as well as her half-forward role, Bessen had similar statistics to Rasheed and looms as one of the most impressive 2007-born players in the SANFL Women’s. She had an early shot that missed to the left, but would hit the scoreboard late in the game with a nice running goal. Bessen competed hard one-on-one against bigger opponents, copped a knock but bounced back up and was able to keep the ball moving quickly in transition.

#24 Lily Whitcombe

Having a busy first term, Whitcombe made her mark on the game early pushing up to the wing and then patrolling the half-back line. Her kicking was generally neat and composed, but what Whitcombe did really well was win a number of critical one-on-ones with timely spoils or taking the ball to ground and locking it in for a stoppage. Though she only had the six disposals, one mark and two tackles, she played her role well.

West Adelaide:

#30 Lauren Young

One of West Adelaide’s best in a frustrating game for the Bloods who really dominated the clearance and inside 50s count. She tried her best with 17 disposals, three marks – two contested – three tackles, two clearances, four inside 50s and a goal, with the latter coming from a 40m set shot. Moments earlier her set shot from 45m fell just short, but she made the extra five metres count. Midway through the third term she came off with the blood rule, but that did not stop her competing throughout the rest of the game as she battled on to the very end.

#42 Steph Tredwell

Returning to the side after a week’s rest in Round 5, Tredwell had the nine disposals, two marks – one contested, three tackles and one goal. Her major came after a strong contested mark in the final minute of the first quarter, immediately playing on and slotting the goal. Though she found the going a little tougher after that – bumped out of marking contests or just slipping through her fingers – Tredwell kept presenting and pushing up the ground.

#43 Emma Kilpatrick

Kilpatrick had a little quieter game than others this season, but she was still high up on her pressure and courage. In the second term, the defender took an incredible mark back with the flight symbolising her attack on the football. She was switched on until the final siren running hard at her opponent on the wing as the time ticked down as Norwood looked to chew the clock down. Overall, Kilpatrick had 11 disposals, three marks – one contested – one inside 50 and one rebound 50.

#46 Asha Dufour

Dufour covered the ground well en route to 14 disposals, six marks – one contested – three tackles, two clearances and one inside 50. She has been accustomed to mopping up in the defence of late, but found herself more in the forward half this week, providing an aerial target for her teammate. Often looking for those short kicks or handballs to running teammates, Dufour was able to win her fair share of the footy and have a solid game.

#51 Ruby Ballard

Tenacious and determined as ever, Ballard unsurprisingly brought the heat to the contest, laying five tackles from 11 disposals. She ran hard all over the ground and showed her running capacity by marking at half-back, passed it off, won it back and kicked down the ground to Dufour early in the third term. Another solid performer without being outstanding.

Norwood:

#39 Charlie Hazelhurst

The 2007-born Hazelhurst was making her League debut and held her own pretty well. She was often involved in the stoppages and though she often won the ball on the outside, she would look to hit targets back in the corridor. A promising debut that suggested it will not be her only game at this level, Hazelhurst recorded eight disposals, four clearances and laid four tackles.

#51 Coby Morgan

A high-impact player, Morgan had a quieter game with just the six disposals and not taking a mark this week, but had a couple of neat passes to set up goals. In the first term she won a free kick just inside 50 and produced a perfectly weighted kick to Najwa Allen for a goal, then in the second term, kicked from the wing to half-forward enabling her teammates to go on with it and score.

South Adelaide:

#2 Holly Ifould

The South Adelaide winger ran hard all game and bounced back from a lower production match the week before to have 13 disposals, three marks – one contested – and two rebound 50s. Her execution was a little off at times, but she was able to keep the ball moving in transition and her second and third efforts were on show again.

#23 Esther Schirmer

Schirmer rarely has any easy jobs and she had to deal with Window at times last night, competing well in the marking contest. She was effective by hand or foot and clean at ground level, showing a high level of accountability for whoever her opponent was at the time. Schirmer finished with eight disposals, two marks and three tackles.

#37 Brooke Boileau

The inside midfielder – or perhaps bit-part ruck based off this game – was hard at it once again and had another consistent performance. She collected 18 disposals, laid seven tackles and had six clearances, two inside 50s and three rebound 50s to be another member of the State Academy who booked her spot in the squad after missing out last year. Boileau even had experience going in the ruck against Matilda Scholz when they were a ruck down – it did not go so well – but the 168cm talent got one over Brooke Tonon when the pair had the most unusual of ruck contests. The ruck work aside, Boileau’s stoppage craft was again strong, and gave off a fend-off after a shrugged tackle at one stage, but was pinged for a throw. Overall a strong performance.

#52 Melissa Anderson

Playing her second game, Anderson was able to kick an important goal in the first term off hands, then continued to have an impact in the forward half of the ground. She sometimes had to rush her disposal out of defence transitioning into attack, but once she had time and space could deliver well. Anderson recorded 13 disposals, four marks, four tackles, five inside 50s and the one goal.

#56 Lily Baxter

Just another crunch goal from Baxter late in the game to win her side the match. The South Adelaide double bottom-ager had the smarts to find space and lead to Lucy Northcott who hit her up in the final two minutes. With no problems whatsoever, Baxter put it straight through the big sticks to seal the game. She had a few chances in the second half after stating the game as a defensive forward on Sarah Goodwin. The Glenelg half-back had eight disposals in the first term so it was not overly effective, but also ended with ice on her ankle after just one quarter. Baxter’s ability to stand up when it counted in those final few minutes.

#60 Kyanne Campbell

It was one of those games where as a small forward Campbell could not quite get involved. She buzzed around the stoppages, but ultimately just had the two handballs and one tackle in the game.

Glenelg:

#6 Violet Patterson

The bottom-ager had some nice moments and applied plenty of defensive pressure in the narrow loss, and hit up Tessa Kohn inside 50 early in the match off an intercept mark. She showed her running capacity in the third term going from half-back to half-forward to try and win it back as a spare option, then won a number of touches in the final term. Patterson was okay across the game even if her production was a little lower, recording 10 disposals, two marks and five tackles.

#8 Piper Window

Though she did not hit the scoreboard this week, Window still managed to exert her influence on the game with 21 disposals, three marks – two contested – eight tackles, four clearances and five inside 50s. Like usual she was often involved in the stoppages and with the umpires, winning frees and giving them away, while trying to bullock through congestion. Her kicking was a bit rushed but she had a number of clean handballs on the inside or standing up in tackles which looked impressive.

#19 Matilda Wilmore

A high-pressure game from Wilmore who held her own against bigger bodies, quite often pushing up to, and even playing on at times, the wing. She had the nine disposals and four inside 50s, but critically laid seven tackles. Her pressure was enormous and she does look to take the game on at all costs, but put pressure on the South defence both with her run and tackling.

#51 Jordan Horne

A second game for the youngster who is similar to Wilmore in many ways, as a hard worker with repeat efforts. She picked up 12 disposals, three marks and two tackles in the win, generally using it well or making good decisions. Her big tackle on Nicole Campbell was a highlight of her game, indicating how she was not afraid of anyone at League level.