A TANISHA Anderson goal after the siren sealed the win for the WAFL Women’s All-Stars against the best young West Australian talent in a hotly contested match last Thursday night. In an impressive display, the teams were neck and neck throughout the contest, with the State Academy leading by as much as 10 points with five minutes to go, but a couple of majors to the All-Stars turned the game.

The more experienced WAFL Women’s All-Stars raced out of the block early in the match with South Fremantle ruck Ariana Hetherington – who attracted interest from Fremantle ahead of the AFLW Supplementary Draft – kicking the first major of the contest. That was followed by a regulation goal from Anderson, her first of the night, as the All-Stars took a 10-point lead into the first change.

Ex-Eagles Ashleigh Gomes and Emily Bennett along with Jayme Harken were making life difficult for the Under 18s, as the State Academy had to rely on the slick footskills of Zippy Fish, Evie Cowcher and Olivia Crane to mop up in the defensive half of the ground. A move of Henry into the middle after spending time in defence proved a spark for the Under 18s, as the AFLW Academy member immediately started to get the upper hand at the clearances.

It resulted in the Under 18s’ first goal of the game through Bulldogs small Noa McNaughton using her craftiness and smarts to find space, mark and convert the set shot just four minutes into the second term. The kick in to McNaughton came off the boot of East Fremantle over-ager Mylee Leitch who has enjoyed an impressive start to the 2023 WAFL Women’s season, playing as a forward pinch-hitting in the midfield.

Arguably best-on in the first half for the Under 18s was the smooth-moving Ella Slocombe, with the Claremont top-ager weaving her magic from half-back and through the middle as she was getting into all the right spots. She along with Henry and Peel Thunder jet Kaitlyn Srhoj were getting their hands on the ball, and kept the All-Stars from scoring over the next two quarters.

In that time, it was top-age tall Anjelique Raison who came to the party, bobbing up for back-to-back goals in the third term, too strong for East Perth opponent Lillian Ninyette, who also rolled through the ruck later in the game. Raison nailed her first from the top of the goalsquare and her second soccering off the deck running back to goal, but while her goals were not a high degree of difficulty, her presentation inside 50 and defensive attributes were every bit as impressive as her offensive traits.

Raison’s two majors handed the Under 18s an 11-point lead at the final break, and it would take some magic for the All-Stars – who had been unable to add to their score since the first term – to get back into the contest. That magic came in the form of East Fremantle captain Gomes, who opposed to younger Sharks teammate Taya Chambers won the ball close to the boundary line, and with Chambers hanging off her, spun the correct way and got boot to ball for it to bounce home.

A strong contested mark from another Shark in Chloe Reilly with four minutes remaining put the game back on, though Raison – now thrown in defence – was doing her best to save it, with a goalline touch to get it to Cowcher to clear in the dying minutes.

It looked like the Under 18s were going to milk the last two minutes of the match when Crane – moved forward – marked at half-forward and delivered a short ball to impressive fellow double bottom-ager and Subiaco teammate Olivia Wolmarans in the pocket. A tight angle, Wolmarans instead looked to cross the forward 50. The ball was spoiled and the All-Stars ran off with the overlap.

Going end-to-end, the All-Stars looked to have the momentum as Swan Districts Kayley King marked 45m out. Just outside her range, she pumped it to the goalsquare where the reliable Cowcher took a huge pack mark. With 25 seconds left on the clock, it looked game over in the hands of the Peel Thunder double bottom-ager. Looking long to the boundary 55m out, it was the crafty Tiah Toth who beat two opponents, spun inboard and delivered a terrific kick to the loose Anderson.

Marking just before the siren 25m out, the Peel Thunder defender-turned-forward made no mistake, much to the joy of her teammates. The All-Stars had stolen the win from the jaws of defeat thanks to some vital moments from experienced players late in the game, 5.1 (31) to 4.5 (29).

Bottom-age speedster Fish was arguably the best-on for the Under 18s, though the likes of fellow bottom-ager Slocombe and consistent inside midfielder Henry also had claims. Talls Raison and Wolmarans presented all match, with the former thrown into defence for the last quarter, while Crane and Cowcher were reliable in the back half of the ground.

The All-Stars were hard to split in terms of their bests given the heavy rotation across the board, but it was hard to look past Gomes who sparked the team time and time again. Claremont midfielder Harken was also very good, particularly in the first half, while Toth and Charli Wicksteed provided terrific speed and evasion going forward. Hetherington and Claremont ruck Matilda Dyke were also impressive throughout the match, taking advantage of the less experienced Under 18s ruck division.

WAFLW U18S 0.2 | 1.3 | 3.5 | 4.5 (29)
WAFLW ALL-STARS 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 5.1 (31)

GOALS:

U18s: A. Raison 2, N. McNaughton, E. Popovsky
All-Stars: T. Anderson 2, A. Hetherington, A. Gomes, C. Reilly

RMC BEST:

U18s: Z. Fish, E. Slocombe, J. Henry, A. Raison, O. Wolmarans
All-Stars: A. Gomes, J. Harken, T. Toth, C. Wicksteed, A. Hetherington