SOUTH Australia’s top AFL Women’s draft prospects returned for Round 7 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.

Woodville-West Torrens:

#2 Jemma Charity

It was not an easy day for clean play and marking forwards, but Charity still managed to pull down a contested grab as well as eight disposals working hard inside 50. She was often forced up the ground when the ball was camped in the Eagles’ defensive half, and had a number of ‘almost moments’ in the match. She competed hard in the marking contests, was quick with ball-in-hand and finished with the three clearances, three tackles, two inside 50s and three rebound 50s as well.

#7 Grace Martin

Bringing the defensive pressure, Martin was busy around half-forward and rotating into the midfield. She picked up an impressive five clearances from a stoppage-heavy match, and laid nine tackles throughout the game. She won a great clearance on the wing early in the game then had an eye-catching spin and kick inside 50 early in the fourth term. By the final siren, Martin had collected 12 disposals and had three inside 50s.

#30 Marlie Fiegert

The potential Port Adelaide father-daughter selection will be the subject of our SANFLW Player Focus for the week, with Fiegert playing her best game of the season. Racking up 18 disposals, eight clearances, three inside 50s and laying eight tackles, she was consistently involved and willing to put her body on the line. Stay tuned for her Player Focus which will outline her performance in detail.

#34 Shineah Goody

It was not a night for outside class, though Goody still looked dangerous whenever she went near it. Though her ground level skills are what catch the eye, the top-age AFLW draft prospect is just as strong overhead, clunking a number of good grabs with a slippery ball. She might have only had the eight touches, but it seemed like far more, and she laid five tackles as well.

South Adelaide:

#1 Bella Rigby

Returning to the South Adelaide side, Rigby had some nice moments even though it was not a night for a forward, let alone a clean marking forward. She provided pressure when around the ball carrier even if she only registered the one official tackle. Midway through the fourth term she did well against three opponents to win the ball in tight and handball clear to 50-game Lucy Northcott. Not overly prolific with six touches, but did the best she could in the conditions.

#2 Holly Ifould

Similar to Goody, it was not a day for the outside wingers, but Ifould still managed to play a competitive game, taking two contested marks showing her strength in the air. She was often opposed to Goody and ran hard to match her, then would win a few nice touches in close when pushing into the stoppages. Midway through the third term, Ifould had a nice play to smother Yasmin Duursma trying to come off half-back, and locked the ball up in the Panthers’ forward half.

#23 Esther Schirmer

With the ball seeing plenty of action in the South Adelaide defensive half at times, Schirmer was able to do a lot of mopping up in defensive 50. She picked up a career-high 21 disposals, also taking two marks, laying six tackles and recording two rebound 50s. Her work under pressure by hand was impressive on the night, and she was neat with ball-in-hand, playing a quietly accumulating role to assist the defence.

#37 Brooke Boileau

One of the Panthers’ best on the night, Boileau was a player that was suited to the conditions, cracking in at the stoppages and applying truckloads of defensive pressure and winning the ball around the ground. She worked hard to assist in defence and then boot the ball to safety, then found herself forward at times, winning a free kick at half-forward in the third term. Not receiving the ball back cleanly, she also received a 25m penalty, which put the top-ager within range. She duly delivered from the set shot to slot the goal which turned out to be the winning major. Boileau recorded 20 disposals, four marks, 10 tackles, three clearances, four rebound 50s and a goal on the night.

#52 Melissa Anderson

Another player who was suited to the night, Anderson cracked in on her way to nine disposals, two marks, three tackles, one inside 50 and two rebound 50s. She was tough at the contest, able to clear the ball from danger, often playing to the conditions.

#56 Lily Baxter

Baxter was very clean off the deck considering the circumstances, winning the loose ball on multiple occasions and looking to drive it forward. She was not able to have it as easily as she normally would even getting into the right positions, with marking proving difficult. Nonetheless, Baxter still worked her way to nine touches and an inside 50 in the win.

North Adelaide:

#9 Laela Ebert

It was a tough day for the Roosters, but Ebert certainly held her own against hte Double Blues, with the bottom-ager accumulating 16 disposals, four marks, three tackles, two inside 50s, one clearance and one rebound 50 in the loss. She often did not have much time to dispose of the ball and found herself under pressure, but read the play well to get into ball-winning decisions. Her short kicking and quick handballing game was effective, and Ebert was always trying to move the ball quickly in transition.

#30 Jayde Visser

Just the six disposals for Visser, but her defensive plays caught the eye, with the double bottom-ager laying a brilliant goal-saving tackle on Georgia Swan in the second term. Visser also applied shepherds and laid some good tackles, doing the team thing and often tapping the ball clear to free teammates without the reward of a disposal. Her efforts ended with six disposals, four tackles, one inside 50 and one rebound 50.

Sturt:

#6 India Rasheed

It was another brilliant performance from the Sturt bottom-ager who kicked the first and last goals of the game. She reads the game so well, can dominate in the air, or win the ball at ground level, and has that lethal left foot that can do so much damage in the forward half. Just before her second goal in the final five minutes of the match, Rasheed had a clever snap out of nothing but a North defender on the line marked it which stopped the forward from making it three majors. Spending time in the midfield again, Rasheed finished with 18 disposals, seven marks – one contested – three clearances, two tackles, four inside 50s and one rebound 50.

#16 Monique Bessen

The double bottom-ager worked hard around the ground and was strong overhead, taking six marks to go with 13 disposals. One of those marks was a terrific leap against a couple of opponents. Her goal came from a good mark in space 25m from goal and converted well from the set shot. Her ability to find space, have that quick little burst on the lead and then use the ball cleanly going forward was important. She finished with 13 disposals, three tackles and a goal in the win.

#24 Lily Whitcombe

Never a high production player, Whitcombe started the first half winning a bit of the ball and doing incredibly well one-on-one. She spoiled her respective opponents well, often locking the ball up, earning a throw-in or even running away with the ball. She was only rewarded with the nine touches and two tackles, with a lot of that coming in the first half. But Whitcombe did far more than the stats sheet suggests, with her one-on-one competitiveness outstanding.

Glenelg:

#6 Violet Patterson

It was a quieter game from Patterson who emerged with the seven disposals, two marks and three tackles. She was often under pressure throughout the game but did well early in the second with a strong mark and kicked into Wilmore. Her running was unrewarded at times, but she still plugged away until the final siren.

#8 Piper Window

Like her teammates, Window was down on her remarkable start to the season, but still ended up battling her way to a team-high 20 disposals. She worked hard and was still one of the prime movers for the Bays. She was often under pressure and had to create her own space, but Window spun out of a couple of tackles to shrug them and boot the ball forward. She was able to put the ball inside 50 on six occasions to try and get some scoring happening, with a few of her spins looking like they would pay off. Window also had a set shot on the final siren but it just fell short from long-range. Overall it was still a sound game from the top-ager who finished with 20 disposals, four marks, 11 tackles, two clearances, six inside 50s and two rebound 50s.

#19 Matilda Wilmore

Glenelg’s forwardline did not get a stack of clean looks, but Wilmore added her touch of pressure around the ball en route to four tackles. She only won the six disposals, but did well with a handball early in the second quarter to release Ella Boag running by after a mark, then won a free kick later that quarter for being held and dished off again to a running teammate.

#51 Jordan Horne

Playing a different role on the wing at times, Horne played a tight role on influential runner Morgan Johnston, and kept her honest and down to just seven disposals for the game. She could occasionally get bumped off the ball, but was clean at ground level and quick by hand, totalling nine disposals and laying six tackles in the loss.

Norwood:

#51 Coby Morgan

A perfect impact player, Morgan only had the three disposals, but one of them was an important goal early in the third term. Playing in her usual forward role, Morgan picked the ball up and snapped cleanly around her body to extend the Redlegs’ lead out to 20. She had another clever kick inside 50 while being held kicking to 30m out to a teammates advantage midway through the fourth quarter.

West Adelaide:

#2 Lucy Boyd

Returning from suspension, Boyd was moved forward to her usual defensive post and unfortunately for her it was not a great day to be there. She had a few trying moments working hard to get to the contest, but with limited opportunities and frustration building, she gave away a few free kicks working overtime to try and win the ball. She had a couple of chances on goal but opted to pass inboard instead of one set shot then another from just inside 50 fell just short. Her second half, and in particular fourth term was better, but ultimately just the five disposals, one mark, one tackle and one inside 50 in a tough day out.

#30 Lauren Young

Young started the game in a blaze of glory in the opening term, racking up the ball with six disposals in quarter one. She often worked behind the ball and tried to thump it forward, but looked a little proppy towards the end of the term. For the last three quarters the talented top-ager played forward and still competed in the air, even pushing up the ground at times. Young would only have the five touches in those last three quarters, but finished off with a great goal from a set shot in the pocket on a tight angle. Another set shot early in the fourth term just pushed to the right. The West Adelaide talent recorded 11 disposals, three marks, two tackles, two clearances and one goal in Round 7.

#42 Steph Tredwell

Another West Adelaide forward who found the going tough due to limited opportunities, the double bottom-ager kept presenting inside 50 and pushing up the ground but ultimately could not get too many easy looks. She had a chance midway through the second term which was a dribble kick towards goal but it slowed down and stayed in. Just the five disposals, one mark, two tackles and two inside 50s for Tredwell.

#43 Emma Kilpatrick

Played an underrated role in defence, often on the last line battling hard. At one point she did so well to beat her direct opponent in Evans, only for Grigg to arrive and kick a major. She competed well in the air, taking a strong intercept mark at half-back, and when she was able to think through her disposals, hit targets comfortably. She worked hard all game and could hold her head high given the tough circumstances of the match.

#46 Asha Dufour

Was the most prolific of the State Academy players on West Adelaide’s side with 13 disposals, and she did it evenly across the four quarters. She worked hard up and down the wing and tried to create some inside 50 looks when at half-forward. She can tend to rush her kicks at times, but tracks it well and equally covers the ground quickly. Dufour managed the 31 disposals, three marks and three inside 50s.

#51 Ruby Ballard

It was a quieter game from the tenacious Ballard who finished with the eight disposals and three tackles, but did managed three inside 50s. A couple of her eye-catching players was a spin out of trouble in the second term to kick forward, then a great tackle on the wing later in the third quarter to win the ball and kick downfield.

Central District:

#8 Elaine Grigg

The spark that the Bulldogs needed, Grigg kicked the first three goals of the match and returned to form after a slightly quieter week last week. She was lively and her aggressive self, and while all three goals came from the goalsquare, it was not through camping out the back, but rather running harder than her opponents to get goalside. She created the outnumber inside 50 and throughly deserved each goal, making her own luck in that regard. She found her fair share of the ball, and while a lot of it came in the front half, she still had some neat touches at half-back and applied good pressure across the ground. Grigg recorded the 15 disposals, one mark, five tackles, one clearance, two inside 50s and three goals.

#9 Charlotte Riggs

Returning for the team from suspension, Riggs played fairly high up the ground at times, but also got back to win the ball in her familiar defensive 50. She had a burst through the middle to kick inside. 50in the second quarter, and her spoiling was on point early in the match. She always looked to take the game on, and while she has had bigger games, it was a good start after a couple of weeks off.

#12 Sophie Eaton

Eaton was lively in the front half, playing a hand in a number of scoring opportunities even though she only registered the one behind herself. That came in the fourth term where her set shot from 30m missed to the left. In the final play of the day, she took an incredibly four bounces running from the middle to inside 50 showing her pace, but was missed the shot at top speed. Luckily it was brought back, though she toed the kick for no score. While that was not the best end for her game, Eaton was definitely an impressive contributor, taking a number of marks and putting the ball deep inside 50. She recorded 10 disposals, five marks, two tackles and four inside 50s.

#27 Jasmine Evans

Able to impact far more than her six disposals might suggest, Evans was able to give the ball off to Grigg for an easy goal in the second term, and delivered inside 50 time and time again to both Eaton and Chantel Reynolds honouring their leads. She almost kicked a ripper early in the game with a snap from the outside of the boot 15 minutes in, but it grazed the post as it sailed through. She had more time than she knew and could have steadied to run in and make it a certainty, but that learning will come with time.