QUEENSLAND weathered an early Vic Country storm to boot the last five goals of the Maroons’ opening AFLW Under 18 Championships match, and come away with the 21-point victory at Brighton Homes Arena yesterday. There were no shortage of standout contributors and we named a few of them in our Scouting Notes. As always, notes are the opinion of the individual author.

Queensland:

#5 Zimra Hussain (Wilston Grange / Brisbane Lions Academy)
Forward | 160cm | 01/01/2006

Stats: 11 disposals, 2 marks, 3 tackles, 3 clearances, 2 inside 50s, 1 goal, 1 behind

Looked lively inside 50s, applying some great forward pressure and a slick sidestep. Had a few good moves on her respective opponents, and has a low centre of gravity to draw free kicks as well. On one occasion she was taken high and then managed to cleverly trick the umpire into going well off her line and opened up the angle on goal. Duly delivered with a neat set shot to get just rewards for her hard work.

#7 Annabelle Foat (Bond University / Gold Coast Suns Academy)
Midfielder / Forward | 163cm | 23/04/2007

Stats: 18 disposals, 2 marks, 2 tackles

Really bobbed up in the absence of other key midfielders, and Foat finished as one of the more prolific ball-winners on the ground. For an inside midfielder she was not a huge clearance winner nor hardball get extractor, but she was clean at ground level and had a team-high nine handball receives which shows how hard she ran around the ground. Used the ball fairly well too throughout the match.

#10 Mia Salisbury (Bond University / Gold Coast Suns Academy)
Midfielder | 168cm | 27/06/2006

Stats: 21 disposals, 5 marks, 6 tackles, 6 clearances, 5 inside 50s

Salisbury was right on the edge of last month’s AFLW Draft Power Rankings, and after an eye-catching performance will crack into that top 30. Her impact with ball-in-hand is evident and she can just do it all. The Suns Academy midfielder is a player who will consistently run at around the 50-odd per cent in efficiency and contested possession work, but more often than not has that time and space and makes good decisions with ball-in-hand. A classy type with upside who can also spread to the outside.

#11 Mia Geere (Wilston Grange / Brisbane Lions Academy)
Defender | 171cm | 08/04/2008

Stats: 9 disposals, 3 marks

The bottom-ager played in defence so did not see a lot of action, but got more aggressive as the game went on and was involved in a number of scoring chains. One she started making the switch deep in defence, and another one or two came as the result of her pushing up the ground in the second half. Possesses a powerful kick and some nice vision as well. Her third term in particular was influential.

#15 Sunny Lappin (Southport / Gold Coast Suns Academy)
Forward | 169cm | 29/11/2007

Stats: 12 disposals, 5 marks, 3 inside 50s, 1 goal, 2 behinds

Though relatively quiet early in the game, Lappin blew up the stats sheet later in the match, and in particular the last quarter where she seemed to be everywhere inside 50. Not sure whether the opposition thought she smelled but the amount of space she found in the last 20 minutes was ridiculous, taking a couple of uncontested marks and finishing the match with five disposals, a goal and two behinds in that final term.

#16 Nyalli Milne (Bond University / Gold Coast Suns Academy)
Wing | 171cm | 26/05/2006

Stats: 12 disposals, 3 marks, 3 tackles, 3 tackles, 3 inside 50s

Played off a wing having been deployed in other roles previously, and provided her usual dash across the ground. Though her efficiency was a little hit and miss, she brought some serious heat with a couple of ripping tackles early to set the tone, winning a holding the ball free kick with one of them too.

#18 Bronte Parker (Bond University / Gold Coast Suns Academy)
Midfielder / Defender | 169cm | 19/01/2007

Stats: 13 disposals, 5 tackles, 2 clearances, 2 rebound 50s

A powerful player who bobbed up at key moments to have an impact for the Maroons, winning a crucial clearance from defence early, and looking to thump the ball from danger on a number of occasions. With time and space she was able to assess her options clearly, and though still with room to improve on efficiency, brought the heat to be one of the more prolific tacklers on the day.

#23 Alannah Welsh (Southport / Gold Coast Suns Academy)
Forward / Midfielder | 170cm | 23/11/2007

Stats: 9 disposals, 2 marks, 3 tackles, 2 goals, 1 behind

Showed her class with a coupe of goals and did get some midfield minutes at the centre stoppage as well. Had an eye-catching moment in the second term with a clever shot on goal that bounced home, then kicked her second goal in the third term after a nice mark and set shot. Attempted a Goal of the Year contender from the boundary with a dribble attempt but it bounced the wrong side of the post.

#30 Dekota Baron (Southport / Gold Coast Suns Academy)
Forward | 178cm | 03/01/2007

Stats: 17 disposals, 6 marks, 1 goal, 2 behinds

An enormously talented bottom-ager who at the start of the carnival was tipped to be one of the leading goalkickers. Though she only kicked the one goal – and two behinds, she set up other teammates with great vision inside 50 and clunked some strong marks on the lead. Athletic, strong and a nice kick of the ball when going up the field, Baron has all the traits to become a top-end talent in next year’s draft.

#32 Georja Davies (Southport / Gold Coast Suns Academy)
Ruck / Midfielder | 183cm | 17/01/2007

Stats: 24 disposals, 9 marks, 4 tackles, 15 hitouts, 4 clearances, 4 inside 50s

Could the Suns Academy have the best three players in next year’s draft? It’s possible, with Davies having another huge outing to be right up there with Ava Usher and Baron at the top-end of next year’s draft. Though naturally a ruck, Davies seemed to take her game to another level as a midfielder, and then won some big clearances, worked around the ground and was near impossible to stop. A standout in the game, she also has ridiculous athleticism for a 183cm player and sidestepped smaller opponents with ease.

#33 Havana Harris (Bond University / Gold Coast Suns Academy)
Midfielder / Ruck | 181cm | 01/07/2006

Stats: 20 disposals, 7 hitouts, 5 clearances, 4 inside 50s, 1 goal

The pick one contender just got better as the game went on, and seemed to relish going into the ruck and working in tandem with Davies. She has had bigger statistical games before, but make no mistake, Harris had a huge impact on the match. In the fourth term she intercepted the ball at half-forward then loaded up from 40m and nailed it on the run to ice the game just as a reminder to show what else she has in her kit bag as a supremely talented athlete and footballer.

Vic Country:

#3 Jemma Reynolds (Langwarrin / Dandenong Stingrays)
Forward / Midfielder | 163cm | 29/04/2006

Stats: 18 disposals, 3 marks, 5 inside 50s

Spent the majority of her time forward such was the depth of the Vic Country midfield, and certainly had an impact in the role. Started with the first mark of the game and goal assist to Zoe Besanko, then used her clean hands and footy smarts to win the ball in the forward half and set up teammates. She had a shot on goal midway through the third term that missed, but other than hitting the scoreboard herself, did just about everything else.

#5 Lou Painter (White Hills / Bendigo Pioneers)
Midfielder | 174cm | 23/02/2006

Stats: 18 disposals, 2 marks, 6 tackles, 3 clearances, 5 inside 50s

A standout contributor throughout the match, Painter’s strength and power really came to the fore in the match, and not only did she win the ball and impact the game that way, but did the team things too with her tackling and shepherding. At times she can just overcook the kick a little going forward, but has a booming kick and great vision with ball-in-hand. Had a flying shot from 50m out in the second term that just missed, but played a four-quarter game.

#6 Chloe Bryant (St Joseph’s / Geelong Falcons)
Wing | 165cm | 09/12/2006

Stats: 13 disposals, 2 inside 50s

With the strength of the inside brigade, the Geelong Falcons runner found herself on the opposite wing to her Talent League Girls captain Mekah Morrissy and had some nice moments. She likes to run and carry and did provide some movement between the arcs, even producing an eye-catching fend-off and smother in the second half. She ran at 50 per cent by foot, but found space really well.

#7 Sara Howley (Newtown & Chilwell / Geelong Falcons)
Midfielder | 173cm | 29/01/2006

Stats: 28 disposals, 3 marks, 6 clearances, 3 inside 50s, 3 rebound 50s

The best on ground in the win, Howley racked up the ball from start to finish and was super efficient, playing one her of most notable matches to-date. She still won the bulk of her possessions via handball receive or loose ball, but kicked at an efficient 75 per cent and covered the ground with ease. Overall, Howley just made things happen not just with her run but also with her disposal.

#9 Holly Egan (Shepparton Swans / Murray Bushrangers)
Defender | 176cm | 01/07/2006

Stats: 18 disposals, 3 marks, 4 tackles

Egan showcased all of her athletic traits and intercepting abilities in the match, pushing high at times and not afraid to crack in and win the hardball, as well as run past for the handball receive. She took some good marks overhead and was able to relieve the pressure in the Vic Country defence and though her efficiency by foot can still improve, she is capable to clearing the ball from danger.

#14 Kayla Dalgleish (Officer / Dandenong Stingrays)
Forward | 161cm | 15/07/2006

Stats: 13 disposals, 2 marks, 3 inside 50s, 2 goals, 2 behinds

Incredibly lively in the forward 50, Dalgleish kicked two of her side’s four goals and set up the other two to Zoe Besanko and Olivia Wolter to be the most threatening Vic Country forward. She missed a few under pressure and berated herself when hitting the outside of the boot with a kick which was intercepted by Baron. Her leading patterns and forward craft impressed, and she buzzed around at ground level in slightly wet conditions.

#16 Ash Centra (Sale City / Gippsland Power)
Midfielder | 174cm | 02/06/2006

Stats: 14 disposals, 5 tackles, 2 clearances, 2 rebound 50s

The star talent might not have had a huge game numbers wise, but every touch turned to gold. She shrugged off would-be tacklers, pierced passes into the corridor and was able to nail kicks going inside 50 with ease. Her release handballs out of congestion were just as good, and had it not been for hobbling off after a crunching marking contest, she might have had an even bigger impact. Still, she ran at 85.7 per cent disposal efficiency in the match, the highest of any player with 10 disposals or more.

#17 Claire Mahony (Lake Wendouree / GWV Rebels)
Forward | 181cm | 21/06/2006

Stats: 9 disposals, 5 marks

The talented key forward clunked some big grabs in the first half and and showed off some of her sublime field kicking in the match. Though she copped a knock and looked ginger at the final break with some run-throughs on the boundary, she returned back to the field. Not as impactful after that, she still worked hard up the ground and is an ever-dangerous presence on the field.

#18 Stella Huxtable (Torquay / Geelong Falcons)
Forward / Midfielder | 170cm | 22/12/2007

Stats: 13 disposals, 5 marks, 3 tackles, 2 inside 50s, 2 behinds

The sole bottom-ager out there for Vic Country, Huxtable showed she could match it with her peers a year older as she provided a marking target inside 50 and rolled through the midfield as well. Her hands overhead are two quality attributes in her game, and though she missed a couple of chances on goal, still had her moments throughout the match to suggest she can play a role for Country this year.