BOTH Queensland Northern Academies picked up wins in Round 5 of the Coates Talent League Girls competition, while the Greater Western Victoria (GWV) Rebels got on the board in the 2024 season. We recap the key standouts from across the seven matches.

Murray Bushrangers 2.3 (15) lost to GWS Giants Academy 11.8 (74)

The GWS Giants Academy made it back-to-back wins in the competition with a comprehensive 59-point victory over Murray Bushrangers in Wodonga. After the Bushies levelled the scores early in the match, the Giants piled on 10.8 to 1.2 to run out victors and complete their first stint in the league.

STANDOUT: Isla Wiencke (Giants Academy)

The bottom-age midfielder’s strong campaign continued over the weekend with another impressive display between midfield and attack. She kicked two goals from 23 disposals, and also laid five tackles with 13 inside 50s to continually put pressure on the Bushrangers’ defence.

OTHERS:

There were even contributors across the board for both teams with Majella Day (five goals) dominant up front, while Amelie Prosser-Shaw (18 disposals, 11 tackles), Sophia de Castella (25 disposals, 11 tackles) and Megan Mifsud (20 disposals, one goal) were all strong. Sophia Green was again outstanding for the Bushrangers in just her second game, while Holly Egan and Isabella Klein worked hard all match.

RMC MEDAL VOTES:

5 – Isla Wiencke (Giants Academy)
4 – Sophia Green (Murray Bushrangers)
3 – Amelie Prosser-Shaw (Giants Academy)
2 – Majella Day (Giants Academy)
1 – Holly Egan (Murray Bushrangers)

Gippsland Power 6.4 (40) defeated Western Jets 4.4 (28)

Gippsland’s star talents came to play against Western Jets, needing to dig deep when challenged to kick the last four goals of the match and win by 12 points. The Power’s past two Vic Country MVPs did all the damage up forward in a low-scoring contest, but the finish at Morwell was ultra-impressive.

STANDOUT: Ash Centra (Gippsland Power)

It was another easy choice to make Centra best on ground with a dominant four goals from 30 touches. She kicked the first four goals of the match including her last two early in the fourth as she was responsible for dragging her team back into the contest, also having four marks, five tackles, two inside 50s and four rebound 50s.

OTHERS:

Gippsland had a range of players who contributed, with defender Ella Stoddart going forward in the last term to kick two goals on the fly from 21 disposals, while Abby Hobson was a marking force all game. Midfielders Jasmine Sowden, Lilly Leighton and Rebecca Fitzpatrick also influenced the match. For the Jets, Sierra Grieves had another 30-disposal game, with the likes of Olivia Castello and Alex McBride-Loane among the better players.

RMC MEDAL VOTES:

5 – Ash Centra (Gippsland Power)
4 – Sierra Grieves (Western Jets)
3 – Ella Stoddart (Gippsland Power)
2 – Abby Hobson (Gippsland Power)
1 – Jasmine Sowden (Gippsland Power)

Sydney Swans Academy 7.5 (47) lost to Tasmania Devils 7.6 (48)

Tasmania Devils coaches will come away ultra relieved they took home the four points after they were made to sweat late. The Devils kicked five goals to one in the first half and looked in complete control, before the Swans kept coming. An errant pass deep in defence in the final 30 seconds by the Devils looked to have opened the door for the Swans, but the home side missed the shot which cut the final deficit to one point.

STANDOUT: Priya Bowering (Tasmania Devils)

It was a really even performance across the board for both sides, with Bowering narrowly getting the nod as our best. She was influential on the inside and won a lot of crucial one-on-one contests to feed it out. She was physical, worked hard around the ground and took control of the game when she needed to.

OTHERS:

The Devils dominated the votes, but in truth it was a fairly even contest across the board. Defender-turned-midfielder Mackenzie Williams had a game-high 25 disposals, while Taia Lette kicked a couple of goals, and the likes of Meg Harrison and Mischa Barwin were also impressive. For the Swans, Taya White worked hard in defence, while Lily Race, Lucy Yates and Ella Parker all had their moments.

RMC MEDAL VOTES:

5 – Priya Bowering (Tasmania Devils)
4 – Mackenzie Williams (Tasmania Devils)
3 – Taya White (Swans Academy)
2 – Taia Lette (Tasmania Devils)
1 – Meg Harrison (Tasmania Devils)

Dandenong Stingrays 4.1 (25) lost to Gold Coast Suns Academy 6.11 (47)

Gold Coast Suns Academy shook off a rusty start down in Seaford to come away with another win, this time over Dandenong Stingrays. Fresh off beaten the previously unbeaten Oakleigh Chargers, the Suns came back from a 11-point quarter time deficit to kick 5.9 to 2.0 after quarter time to win by 22 points.

STANDOUT: Dekota Baron (Suns Academy)

For the second consecutive week, Baron slotted four goals, this time with 15 disposals and nine marks, while also recording 19 hitouts. The tall forward stepped up at the stoppages and showed why she is a top-end talent for next season, proving a headache in defence.

OTHERS:

The Suns Academy had no shortage of stars across the board, with its top-end talent standing up when it counted. Top pick contender Havana Harris (28 disposals, 18 hitouts) shared the ruck duties, with Heidi Talbot, Tara Harrington and Mia Salisbury all impressive. Dandenong Stingrays’ duo Kate Terri and Jemma Reynolds were the pick of the losing side representatives.

RMC MEDAL VOTES:

5 – Dekota Baron (Suns Academy)
4 – Havana Harris (Suns Academy)
3 – Heidi Talbot (Suns Academy)
2 – Tara Harrington (Suns Academy)
1 – Kate Terri (Dandenong Stingrays)

Geelong Falcons 6.10 (46) defeated Calder Cannons 3.7 (25)

Geelong Falcons overcame a little bit of inaccuracy to shake off Calder Cannons and kick the last five goals of the game and win by 21 points. The winless Cannons looked good for the first two and a half quarters, but the Falcons came home strongly to run away with the contest and move to 2-1 in the season.

STANDOUT: Sara Howley (Geelong Falcons)

Howley was a clear standout in the win, booting three goals from 32 disposals, nine marks, eight tackles and four inside 50s. Most importantly, she kicked her three goals in the last 25 minutes to help steer the Falcons to victory in what had been a nail-biting contest to that point.

OTHERS:

It was a strange old game where Geelong had most of the better players on the field, but the Calder defence was held well for two and a half quarters. Among the better Falcons were Seisia White, Stella Huxtable, Lucy Marescuk and Hayley Peck who all had strong games. For the Cannons, the likes of Grace Azzopardi and Kyla Forbes both tried hard throughout the contest.

RMC MEDAL VOTES:

5 – Sara Howley (Geelong Falcons)
4 – Seisia White (Geelong Falcons)
3 – Stella Huxtable (Geelong Falcons)
2 – Lucy Marescuk (Geelong Falcons)
1 – Hayley Peck (Geelong Falcons)

GWV Rebels 7.7 (49) defeated Bendigo Pioneers 6.0 (36)

Greater Western Victoria (GWV) Rebels got on the board in the 2024 Coates Talent League Gilrs season with a 13-point win over the Bendigo Pioneers. The Pioneers were unbeaten thus far in the season, but were missing some key players and the Rebels proved too good. A six goals to three first half set up the victory.

STANDOUT: Millie Lang (GWV Rebels)

AFLW Academy member Lang starred in the match playing through the midfield. She pulled in eight marks to go with her 29 touches, three marks and five rebound 50s, getting her taste for midfield action as she has all season.

OTHERS:

The Rebels’ twin towers were on-song with key forward Claire Mahony kicking four goals from 11 disposals up the other end to Lang, while Isabella Davies and Elise Cook were once again among the more prolific players. For the Pioneers, Jemmika Douglas and Lexi Gregor influenced the match, while Olivia Lacy impressed off half-back.

RMC MEDAL VOTES:

5 – Millie Lang (GWV Rebels)
4 – Claire Mahony (GWV Rebels)
3 – Jemmika Douglas (Bendigo Pioneers)
2 – Alexis Gregor (Bendigo Pioneers)
1 – Elise Cook (GWV Rebels)

Eastern Ranges 4.2 (26) lost to Brisbane Lions Academy 5.12 (42)

Brisbane Lions Academy bounced back from its loss to Northern Knights last week to post a hard-fought 16-point win over Eastern Ranges. It was never completely easy with the Ranges continually coming, and inaccuracy proving a problem for the visitors, but they held on despite Eastern kicking three of the last four goals of the match.

STANDOUT: Tayla McMillan (Eastern Ranges)

The silky bottom-age midfielder was outstanding across the board, making good decisions with ball-in-hand despite being on the losing side. She was fierce with her tackling as usual, and finished with 27 disposals, four marks, seven tackles and seven inside 50s in an all-round performance.

OTHERS:

Brisbane took home the win and had an even spread across the board, with double bottom-ager Mia Geere standing up to clunk five marks from 21 disposals and have six inside 50s. She teamed up well with Isabella McDonough in the forward half, while Laura Roy and Farrandai Hopkins were prolific in defence. For the Ranges, Jordyn Allen was outstanding once again, while Grace Belloni and Evie Parker teamed up well on the inside and outside respectively, and Georgia Knight kicked three of her four goals.

RMC MEDAL VOTES:

5 – Tayla McMillan (Eastern Ranges)
4 – Jordyn Allen (Eastern Ranges)
3 – Mia Geere (Brisbane Lions Academy)
2 – Laura Roy (Brisbane Lions Academy)
1 – Isabella McDonough (Brisbane Lions Academy)