FOR the second consecutive year, Oakleigh Chargers skipper Sienna Tallariti stood tall on the big stage to earn yet another best on ground in the Coates Talent League Girls Grand Final. From start until finish, Tallariti played a crucial role in the back 50, intercepting anything that came her way and was able to keep the Eastern Ranges from putting goals on the board when the game was at its hottest.

Having won the medal a year earlier, Tallariti again showed she is not overawed in crunch games and clunked a stack of contested marks to go with her her work one-on-one and rebounding. It was a well-balanced defenders game, with Tallariti’s composure and leadership shining through.

She was the first subject of our Coates Talent League Girls Grand Final Player Focus.

Oakleigh Chargers, Vic Metro GirlsTall Defender

Sienna Tallariti

Height: 168cm

Weight: -

DOB: 10-07-2006

PLAYER FOCUS

2024 Coates Talent League Girls Grand Final:
Oakleigh Chargers 5.7 (37) defeated Eastern Ranges 2.7 (19)

#3 Sienna Tallariti (Oakleigh Chargers)
Stats: 24 disposals (20 kicks, 4 handballs) @ 67% efficiency, 6 marks (4 contested), 2 tackles, 1 clearance, 2 inside 50s, 14 rebound 50s

FIRST QUARTER

Sienna Tallariti started the match prominently in defence playing on opposing skipper and her Vic Metro co-captain Georgie Brisbane. Tallariti’s first touch was a handball away while being tackled, before a nice second effort to win the ball and kick to a contest on the wing. The Oakleigh defender rebounding did open the space behind her and allow a pass to her direct opponent, but luckily the set shot missed.

Tallariti took the kickout and thumped it to the defensive side of the centre square where she hit Chloe Bown precisely on the chest. A couple of minutes later, Tallariti clunked a strong intercept mark on the wing in front of Brisbane, working up the ground with her opponent to cover plenty of ground.

Midway through the quarter, Brisbane continued to work Tallariti up the ground and get the defender out of her comfort zone, but the Chargers skipper knew when to peel back into defence and in the 10th minuter took another kickout. That kick was a rare turnover, but intercepted it again shortly after with a dump kick coming her way 20m from goal.

Tallariti would kick to a contest at the defensive 50, and while the ball did come back, she would mop up yet again and deliver a nice short pass with great composure. A highlight in the first quarter came in the 18th minute when Tallariti showed brilliance moving through traffic so seamlessly and was composed by hand to get it away.

While she would get caught behind Brisbane in the pocket for a last set shot from her opponent, Tallariti finished the term with eight disposals, two marks and four rebound 50s.

SECOND QUARTER

Tallariti’s first touch of the second term was a quick kick from half-back under pressure to a one-on-one down the field. She repeated the same instance a moment later but spotted a target in Sarah Poustie through lowering the eyes and nailing the pinpoint pass.

Another highlight followed in the eighth minute of the term where she took the ball off hands against multiple opponents in defence, opening space on the outer wing and started the incredible end-to-end play that resulted in Grace To’s goal.

Even when unable to mark against Brisbane such as in the 10th minute, Tallariti managed to bring it to ground and provide pressure once it hit the deck, and she notched up another kick when taking the kickout to hit up a target at centre half-back.

Tallariti produced another brilliant highlight when up against two opponents, she gathered cleanly and sidestepped them selling candy along the way before kicking off the non-preferred left. While the kick was not as penetrating as off her right and got intercepted, she won it back via interception herself and thumped to a contest inside 50 as she pushed higher up the ground.

By half-time, Tallariti’s numbers were up to 16 disposals, four marks, two inside 50s and eight rebound 50as.

THIRD QUARTER

The second half was not as prolific for Tallariti given Oakleigh started to have more field position dominance and she dropped back deeper rather than following Brisbane all the way up the field, but a few minutes into the third term the Oakleigh skipper had already notched up 20 touches.

Her first kickout in the opening two minutes was effective from defence, and then took another great mark in front of Brisbane deep in the back 50. A moment later with the ball coming in, Tallariti got caught behind again but her implied pressure and bodywork forced her opponent to drop the mark and she was quick to swoop in, gather and handball off.

That handball was a part of a one-two that saw her kick to half-back, and while intercepted by Grace Belloni, had cleared deep in defence without giving away a free kick close to goal. Her last couple of touches came in the final couple of minutes, with the first being a handball receive on the wing and kick forward off the non-preferred but it did turn over.

Tallariti’s last touch was fittingly an intercept mark in the defensive 50 and was able to hit up a target at half-back. By the final break, the Chargers skipper was up to 22 disposals, six marks and 12 rebound 50s.

FOURTH QUARTER

Tallariti almost exclusively played deep in the defensive 50 for the fourth quarter as the Chargers needed her to ensure the Ranges’ attempts to go deep would be thwarted. She would only have two more disposals – both kicks – but had numerous defensive players to disrupt the opposition.

Her first noticeable moment was a tackle on the defensive side of the wing to lock the ball up, then in the 10th minute, produced a timely spoil on Kelsie Ternes to bring the ball to ground. Shortly after, she showed great smarts in the back 50 contest to win it and kick to the defensive side of the wing.

In the last two minutes, Tallariti gathered deep in defence under immense pressure and hit the pass up to half-back brilliantly before capping off the performance with a well-timed smother in defence to stop a shot on goal.

Perhaps the biggest moment that showed Tallariti’s character occurred after the final siren. While all of her teammates celebrated and mobbed one another, Tallariti walked to shake the hands of the Eastern players around her and console them after a hard-fought battle.

CLOSING THOUGHTS…

Sienna Tallariti is a wonderfully talented player who defines a true footballer’s footballer. She understands the game, reads the play well in the air and can both defend and attack when required. While the new-age of football leans towards explosive talls, Tallariti bucks the trend by maximising all of her strengths to impact games consistently.

Obviously a big-game player based off her two best on ground medals in the 2024 Coates Talent League Girls Grand Finals, Tallariti might not have the elite athleticism of others, but she has elite footy IQ and smarts as well as precision disposal and decision making. Even if a disposal is turned over, rarely will it be a bad decision off Tallariti’s boot.

Her on-field ability, coupled with her personality that oozes leadership and taking responsibility, she leads by example and makes her teammates walk taller. Her coach Ty Vickery said she is the most mature player he has come across, and it is easy to see why, with a big future in store for the top-ager.