ONLY two sides remain undefeated after Round 3 of the WAFL Women’s competition with Claremont knocking off East Fremantle and West Perth accounting for Subiaco. As always, we took a look at the State Academy members in action, with all notes the opinion of the individual author.

Peel Thunder:

#2 Evie Cowcher (Defender)
Stats: 21 disposals, 4 marks, 2 tackles, 1 inside 50

The bottom-age defender tried her heart out again, and looked to take grass wherever possible. She won the ball and was willing to take on her opponents, often gaining some impressive meterage along the way. Her efficiency was a little lower than usual, but she was playing higher afield and under more pressure, but with time and space was able to deliver cleanly.

#4 Holly Britton (Midfielder)
Stats: 15 disposals, 1 mark, 4 tackles, 2 inside 50s

Starting on-ball for another week, Britton is becoming an unassuming key cog in the Thunder’s midfield. She may not be the flashiest player as she does a lot of her best work around the coalface, but is able to dish off to teammates. Her vision and decision making was generally strong, with the execution just falling a little short at times. Britton is building her consistency with more midfield minutes though.

#6 Jorja Haines (Forward/Midfielder)
Stats: 15 disposals, 2 marks, 5 tackles, 3 inside 50s, 2 behinds

Her talent is evident in patches where she catches the eye with her first few steps bursting out of a contest or winning it at half-forward. At both the start of the first and second terms, Haines burst away and kicked inside 50. She would finish the match with two behinds, but her defensive pressure was as good as her offensive work. At times she can give away some free kicks due to that aggression, but her team-first mentality was great in the match.

South Fremantle

#4 Noa McNaughton (Forward)
Stats: 16 disposals, 1 mark, 3 tackles, 5 inside 50s, 2 goals, 1 behind

Arguably her best game of the season despite largely playing only forward. McNaughton was superb in her attack on the ball and enjoyed having more service inside 50. Unsurprisingly she found it coming out of attack being proactive and on the move, with her lightning quick hands and great goal sense coming to the fore. She kicked a couple of goals in the second half to be rewarded for her work, the first while being tackled in the goalsquare and then the second a terrific shot rom the boundary line. Has shown promise in the midfield, but her forward craft is just outstanding.

#14 Jasmine Bazeley (Forward/Midfielder)
Stats: 10 disposals, 1 mark, 7 tackles, 4 inside 50s

Easily her best game for the year, the talented left-footer showed off her athletic traits early with a nice spin out of trouble and kick down the ground. She put pressure on the opposition with a massive seven tackles, and won the ball one-on-one. The final execution can be tidied up at times with most kicks going to space or contests, but she provides some run and carry and is aggressive in her play.

#15 Renee Morgan (Midfielder)
Stats: 22 disposals, 3 marks, 2 tackles, 4 inside 50s

Boasting her regularly clean hands, Morgan makes up for a lack of speed with her sheer power to breakthrough tackles and dish off. She makes her own space with her footy IQ, and her ability to kick off either side of her body is a huge aspect of her game. She rarely wastes many touches with ball-in-hand and shows great pressure at ground level. She might have only been rewarded with two tackles, but her work to quell opponents was important in the South Fremantle midfield.

#19 Zoe Keley (Ruck)
Stats: 6 disposals, 3 marks, 2 tackles, 1 hitout, 2 inside 50s

Keley is still developing her craft and building her experience at WAFLW level, and sharing the ruck load with both Newson and Charlie Vandenberg. Though only having the one hitout, Keley did well around the ground, clunking a few marks and had a bit of a purple patch early in the second term where she won a number of touches.

#25 Kate Newson (Ruck/Forward)
Stats: 3 disposals, 2 tackles, 11 hitouts

Newson proved too tall for her opponent in the ruck, winning the most hitouts for her side and imposing herself around the contest. She had a few touches around the ground but was quieter outside the stoppages, an element of her game she is still looking to improve.

#33 Molly O’Hehir (Midfielder)
Stats: 22 disposals, 7 tackles, 2 inside 50s

O’Hehir was one of the more prolific Bulldogs again and was productive around the ground and had her trademark burst going. Though clearly still a class above at times, O’Hehir could still tidy up a couple of minor elements such as her bouncing and short handpassing which was a touch awkward or rushed, but it certainly did not overawe the positives in her game. She is a sublime talent who attacks everything incredibly hard, and her athletic gifts and defensive pressure make her one of the most promising players in this year’s AFLW Draft crop.

Swan Districts:

#5 Carys D’Addario (Midfielder)
Stats: 19 disposals, 4 marks, 4 tackles, 1 inside 50, 1 goal

It was another industrious performance from D’Addario who continues to be a crucial member of the Swans’ midfield. Often battling against more experienced players, D’Addario just finds the ball and bursts through, and though she did get caught a couple of times and forced to rush the disposal, she is so clean below her knees and strong in the hips. Her smart vision with ball-in-hand is also evident.

East Perth:

#3 Lucy Greenwood (Forward)
Stats: 9 disposals, 2 marks, 3 tackles, 1 inside 50, 3 behinds

An incredibly promising talent for the Royals and a bottom-ager who is doing the best she can given limited supply. Unfortunately her work up the ground only yielded three behinds, but she set up multiple players for scoring shots. Her hands at ground level are elite and she bursts and weaves around opponents to create something each time she wins it, and should be one to look forward to at the national carnival.

West Perth:

#1 Megan Norbury (Wing)
Stats: 10 disposals, 3 marks, 2 tackles

Similarly to last week, Norbury ran hard with little reward, but did not stop trying. Her follow-up and contest-to-contest work is sound, but just saw minimal action with Taylor Ferguson on the other wing racking up 30 touches. Her efficiency by foot was hit and miss with one out on the full getting too close to the player on the mark, but over short distances can hit some nice pinpoint passes. By hand she is usually clean and slick.

#7 Mia Russo (Forward)
Stats: 11 disposals, 2 marks, 3 tackles, 2 inside 50s, 1 goal, 2 behinds

Playing predominantly forward, Russo created plenty of scoring opportunities and was always active when the Falcons had the ball forward of centre. She only finished with the one goal from a set shot last in the match, while missing a couple of chances and kicking another out on the full. Still, her hands at ground level were clean and she always looks dangerous when the ball is in the area.

Subiaco:

#22 Olivia Wolmarans (Forward)
Stats: 12 disposals, 1 mark, 1 tackle, 1 hitout, 1 inside 50, 2 behinds

Well held by Liliana Grassenis inside 50, Wolmarans continued to work hard up the ground and found her share of touches. She moved into the ruck for a stint and took her mark in the final term on the wing where she kicked to a contest at half-forward. Though a quieter day from a forward perspective with two behinds, Wolmarans continued to battle on through the four quarters.

Claremont:

#24 Bec Anderson (Forward)
Stats: 6 disposals, 3 marks, 1 tackle, 1 hitout, 2 goals

Anderson had a blazing start to the game, kicking two goals in the first term, both in similar circumstance. In two separate situations, the over-age tall got in front of her direct opponent, protected the ball drop and took the mark. From close range she made no mistake and ensured she would be a prominent player on the scoreboard. After quarter time Anderson had a quieter day in terms of stats, but she continued to work hard doing much more than the stats sheet might suggest, including setting up Emily Bonser with a goal in the third term.

#29 Claudia Wright (Defender)
Stats: 14 disposals, 1 mark, 1 tackle

For the most part, Wright did not see a lot of action early, with only the second term being a major feature for the running defence. She won a number of touches then and tried to charge away down the field. Her vision and footy IQ is an element that stands apart in her game, and though a shot on goal went out on the full when she went forward, she is usually an accurate disposer by hand or foot.

East Fremantle:

#12 Taya Chambers (Defender)
Stats: 9 disposals, 3 tackles

A really competitive effort by Chambers who saved a goal by getting back to touch it on the goalline, and time and time again using body contact to force spoils or turnovers. She often just looked to clear long down the line more than anything else, but did also take her chances to run when given space. Mostly played as a shutdown defender with good strength one-on-one, so played her role and could hold her head high with an all-round solid performance.

#29 Natasha Entwistle (Defender)
Stats: 17 disposals, 3 marks, 5 tackles, 1 inside 50

One of the best Sharks, Entwistle was ultra-productive off half-back finding a balance between her offence and defence. She took a couple of great intercept marks and showed quick hands on the overlap. Her speed allows her to sidestep opponents and open up angles for teammates. Entwistle had a couple of frees against including a 50m penalty for dissent after an alleged sling tackle which cost a goal, but she also saved some goal chances with her smarts to get back and provide an extra number to the defensive contests.

#38 Zippy Fish (Midfielder)
Stats: 24 disposals, 3 marks, 7 tackles, 2 inside 50s

For a player who is always among the best players on the field, by her high standards Fish had a mixed bag of a day. The whole match she won the ball with ease and her clean hands and running was superb, but the first half she made uncharacteristic turnovers by hand and foot. It was a little surprising to see the skilful talent miss more than one or two targets, and though she still made some mistakes in the second half, her efficiency seemed to lift, and certainly her metres gained shot right up. Regardless of her efficiency, Fish’s ability to win the ball at ground level, explode away and gain important serious metres was crucial for her side. Still one of, if not the best Shark on the day for her defensive pressure and creativity.